Norvado, a broadband provider serving northwestern Wisconsin, today announced it had acquired Price County Telephone Company, headquartered in Phillips, Wis. Terms of the Norvado Price County deal were not disclosed.
Price County’s network and staff, which serve about 3,000 customers, will operate going forward under the Norvado brand. Norvado has about 8,000 customers. The two companies are in fairly close proximity.
“The decision to sell has not been an easy one,” said Catherine Mess, former president of PCTC said in a press release. “Price County Telephone Company was formed May 1, 1900 and our family has been involved since March 1913.”
“We are confident the sale to Norvado is in the best interests of our stockholders, our employees, and most of all, our customers,” John Mess, former General Manager added.
The main office for Price County Telephone is located 70 miles from Norvado’s headquarters in Cable. Current plans call for that office and the Price County Telephone office in Park Falls to remain open. Norvado plans to retain the 11 former Price County employees, enabling them to continue serving their community.
“This purchase signals a significant step forward for Norvado and for the people of Price County,” said Norvado CEO Chad Young, in a prepared statement. “During this process, our board and managers were very clear that they only wanted to pursue this acquisition if it benefited both our existing members and Price County’s customers. We believe adding Price County to the Norvado family not only strengthens our position in the future, but also allows us to deliver crucial internet connections to more rural people in our state.
