Investment firm Wren House Infrastructure Management Limited said that it has agreed to acquire residential and commercial provider i3 Broadband from Seaport Capital and CountryWide Broadband. Terms of the Wren House i3 Broadband acquisition were not disclosed.
i3 provides FTTH-based telecommunications services in central Illinois and the East Bay area of Rhode Island. Wren House aims to support i3’s continued growth in existing markets and enable it to move into new markets in Illinois and surrounding states.
Wren House, which is based in London, UK, is described as a “captive global infrastructure investment” manager and Seaport as “a lower middle market buyout firm.”
A comment made by i3 Broadband CEO Dan Kennedy implied that the COVID-19 pandemic is on the minds of the prospective new owners. “i3 is committed to providing local communities with access to the most reliable, high-speed broadband connectivity available. These services are more critical than ever, allowing residents to easily e-learn and work-from-home, and communities to grow. Wren House’s investment will allow us to expand our network and enhance our services, all while remaining committed to our customer-first culture.” Kennedy said in the press release. about the Wren House i3 Broadband acquisition.
CountryWide acquired i3 in 2016 and the Champaign-Urbana network in 2017. In January 2018, CountryWide Broadband acquired Full Channel Cable of Rhode Island and said it had expanded the i3 Broadband network in Peoria and Champaign-Urbana.
Much of the groundwork for the Champaign-Urbana upgrade was done in 2017. In February, i3 acquired the rights to manage and operate the UC2B fiber network in Champaign-Urbana, IL from iTV-3 Inc. In July, 2017, i3 said that it was to start construction in multiple neighborhoods to continue its multi-year, multi-million dollar initiative in that area.
