GeoLinks to Grow by Private Equity Capital

GeoLinks secured a minority investment from a group led by Rock Mountain Capital, a private equity firm in New York specializing in the consumer goods, leisure and entertainment, and technology, media and telecom companies.

The Camarillo internet service provider will use the undisclosed amount of capital, announced late last month, to accelerate its network expansion plans, fund acquisitions and streamline operations.

GeoLinks co-founder and Chief Executive Skyler Ditchfield said that when the company launched in 2011, it had the goal of disrupting the multi-billion-dollar telecom industry. It has done that with a simple idea – do everything better and treat customers they way you would want to be treated, he said.

“Through strategic network growth, technological innovation and unwavering dedication, we’ve continued to deliver high-speed connectivity to more businesses, schools, libraries, hospitals and households throughout California and Nevada every day,” Ditchfield said in a statement. “Partnering with a premier team from Rock Mountain Capital allows us to scale our growth while reaching more customers in our coverage area and continuing to grow our network.”David Stonehill, managing partner of Rock Mountain Capital, said that Ditchfield and his team at GeoLinks have an outstanding track record building and operating broadband networks throughout California.

“With (Rock Mountain’s) support, we are confident the GeoLinks team will continue its technological innovation, stellar customer service and rapid rate of organic growth, and will serve as a platform for potential industry consolidation,” Stonehill said in a statement.

In 2018, GeoLinks received $87.8 million from the Federal Communications Commission to bring broadband service to more than 11,000 rural households in California and Nevada. It was the single largest amount of any California company from the FCC’s Connect America Fund Phase II auction and the fifth largest overall. The auction provided a total of $1.49 billion that will be allocated over the next 10 years.“As the largest winner of Connect America Fund II programs in California, and with its cutting-edge fixed wireless technology, GeoLinks is poised for exciting growth over the next decade to meet increased demand for universal high-speed broadband access,” Stonehill said in his statement.

Also announced last month was GeoLinks’s acquisition of the network assets, including fixed wireless infrastructure and spectrum licenses from TPx Communications in downtown Los Angeles.

The transaction will allow GeoLinks to use its proprietary ClearFiber fixed wireless technology to provision enterprise-grade internet for businesses and anchor institutions across the fastest-growing fixed wireless network in the western U.S., the company said.

The deal also means that GeoLinks will expand its service, primarily in the San Francisco and Las Vegas areas.

Ditchfield said the acquired assets will enable customers and partners to upgrade their bandwidth.

“The assets that we are acquiring will streamline our strategic growth and dovetail with the continued innovation we are implementing on our network operations,” he added in a statement.Financial terms of the deal between GeoLinks and TPx were not disclosed.