Boxborough And Westford Fiber Firms To Combine
Boxborough-based Lightower Fiber Networks' growth spurt just got a boost.
The company, which spun off from National Grid in 2007, recently acquired Westborough-based Veroxity Technology Partners for an undisclosed sum. The deal will give Lightower an almost 50 percent increase in its fiber network service area.
"It's very good news for both companies," said Eric Sandman, president and CEO of Veroxity, which, like Lightower, is in the fiber optic business. "This deal is really going to allow both companies to build off each other's strengths."
Veroxity has a 2,000-mile fiber optic network in Boston and inside the Route 128 belt. Meanwhile, Lightower's 4,500-mile network extends throughout Central Massachusetts and into New England and New York.
"When you combine those you get better network coverage than either of us had before," Sandman said.
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Both companies serve larger businesses that are looking for a direct fiber optic connection.
In the future, Rob Shanahan, CEO of Lightower, said the company has plans to "fill in holes" in the firm's New Jersey and New Hampshire networks. Eventually, Lightower has designs to build connections throughout the mid-Atlantic coast and move westward toward Chicago.
Shanahan sees huge growth opportunities for both Lightower and Veroxity.
"It's been exploding over the last couple of years because there is so much demand for broadband capacity," he said. "Fiber optic cables are really a requirement for delivering speeds customers are demanding. You just can't get that through a copper telecommunications network."
Each of the companies has fared differently during the recent economic downturn. Sandman said Veroxity has experienced solid organic growth, which he said would have been even stronger if it had not been for the economic downturn.
Lightower, meanwhile, has continued hiring even through the recession, according to Shanahan.
Both companies are privately held and do not release financial information.
The deal must be approved by the regulatory agencies in some of the states where both companies operate. Shanahan said he expects the deal to be complete by August.
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