Private Equity firm GTCR, which acquired Standard Media Index and SQAD, said it has added four senior executives to its marketing technology company PC Dreamscape.

David Hogan, previously with Mediaocean, was named chief technology officer; Dmitri Zolotkovsky from OpenSlate, becomes CFO; Harmon Lyons, previously with TransUnion, was named executive VP and general manager and Rose Zory of Integral Ad Science, was tapped as chief human resources officer.

“We are at a pivotal moment in the advertising industry where accurate tracking of ad spend patterns is increasingly crucial to understanding the health of the marketplace and driving media strategies,” said Scott Knoll, CEO of PC Dreamscape.

“Our combined robust insights from SMI and SQAD are a source of truth as we navigate the path ahead where fears of recession loom, Knoll said. “Under the guidance and expertise of our expanded leadership team, Dreamscape - and the companies under it - will further solidify itself as a leader in the advertising space and continue to expand the scope and functionality of our solutions to further help our clients.”

GTCR was founded in 1980 in Chicago and follows what it calls The Leadership Strategy by finding and partnering with management leader to build company through acquisitions and organic growth, investment more than $20 billion in 250 companies. 

It formed Dreamscape as a partnership with Knoll, David Hahn and Michael Iantosca to build a marketing technology business.  ■

Standard Media Index, which collects and analyzes advertising spending data, said that it has been acquired by private equity firm GTCR  and that James Fennessy is stepping down as SMI’s CEO.

The move comes at a time when money is pouring into companies in the data and ad tech businesses. Nielsen is being acquired by Elliott Investment Management for $16 billion and Goldman Sachs made a $325 million investment in iSpot.tv, one of the companies looking to use big data to challenge Nielsen in the media measurement business.

GTCR is buying 100% of SMI through Dreamscape, another company in its portfolio. Dreamscape founder and CEO Scott Knoll was named CEO of SMI, with Fennessey becoming a member of Dreamscape’s board and a consultant to the company.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1980, GTCR formed Dreamscape in 2020 with Knoll, David Hahn and Michael Iantosca. with plans to acquire companies and assets to become a leading marketing technology business.

“We see tremendous upside potential in SMI and its advertising software solutions,” said Craig Bondy, managing director and co-head of TMT at GTCR. “The company is well-positioned in the marketing and advertising industry with deep relationships with its partners and customers which have served it well. We believe that our investment, alongside the Dreamscape team, will provide the resources to expand SMI’s current product portfolio to address new markets and create fully integrated solutions for its customers.”

In April, GTCR and Dreamscape made an investment in SQAD, another company in the advertising data, analytics and media planning business. (SQAD collects data from advertisers, SMI sources its data from media buying agencies). As part of that transaction, SQAD CEO Mark Krigsman stepped down, with Knoll becoming SQAD’s CEO.

“SMI’s leading data and ad intelligence products provide clients with real-time information to help drive better strategies around spend, placement and yield optimization,” said Knoll, who was CEO of Integral Ad Science from 2011 to 2020. 

“With the proliferation of media channels and ad types, the insights that SMI can help provide are now an essential driver of media strategy. The company’s deep relationships with clients and agency partners are underpinned by its customer-centric approach and its commitment to innovation. The SMI team has built a truly unique offering and, together with our partners at GTCR, we believe there is an opportunity to further advance the platform and drive growth across the business,” said Kroll. 

SMI was co-founded by Sue Fennessy and Jane Ractliffe in 2009 in Australia and moved headquarters to New York in 2011. SMI gives the marketing industry a real-world view into advertising spend, ad revenue, media pricing and future-booked commitments that are used by networks, media agencies and advertisers in media mix models, competitive share of spend analyses and for setting pricing benchmarks.

“Today is an important milestone for the entire SMI team, our partners and our clients, as we look toward our next stage of growth,” said James Fennessy, who took over as CEO in 2016.

“This investment is a culmination of Sue’s vision for SMI and a testament to the dedication and professionalism of the SMI team that has enabled us to transform how transparent ad cost and spend data is used by the industry,” he said. “The goal of SMI has always been to form strategic relationships with the world’s leading data-driven companies by providing actionable advertising expenditure and pricing data to ultimately help improve decision making. It is through this core mission that we have grown to be a trusted global source of ad intelligence. This partnership with GTCR and Dreamscape is the next step in our journey and we are all very excited at the potential this new venture will deliver for our partners and customers.” ■

About two months after saying it was pursuing the creation of a new joint venture to build out fiber networks within and adjacent to its existing footprint, Cable One officially unveiled the effort -- Clearview Fiber -- adding that it has signed on investment firms GTCR, Stephens Capital and The Pritzker Organization as financing partners for the JV.

Cable One said it was pursuing the JV -- which includes its Clearwave Communications fiber assets and certain fiber assets of Hargray Communications -- in November. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing at the time, Cable One said the JV also included certain unaffiliated third-party investors, but declined to name them.

According to a press release January 3, Cable One said the Clearwave Fiber venture is committed to “provide fast and reliable connectivity via FTTP [fiber-to-the-premises] internet to underserved markets and will allow for more rapid expansion of fiber internet to homes and businesses in small cities and big towns.”

Cable One owns a majority of the JV, and said investors will make “substantial cash investments” to support its expansion. Clearwave Fiber will be led by executive chairman Michael Gottdenker and CEO David Armistead, both of whom were part of Hargray’s executive leadership team from 2007 until its 2021 sale to Cable One.  

“This strategic investment will help accelerate the deployment of fiber-based broadband services to a range of markets, including underserved areas of the country,” Gottdenker said in a press release. “Our team is motivated by our shared core values of customer service and improving lives through connectivity and is excited to bring fast and reliable Clearwave Fiber broadband to homes and businesses across the country. We are thrilled to welcome GTCR, Stephens, and TPO to the Clearwave Fiber family and look forward to our continued partnership with Cable One.”

GTCR has been a long-time investor in the cable space and has been a frequent partner of Cable One in various deals. In 2019 it purchased Vyve Broadband with Mega Broadband Investments, selling a 45% interest in the company to Cable One about a year later for $547.1 million.  GTCR formed Rural Broadband Investments in 2013, buying several small cable operators -- including New Wave Communications  -- and was sold to Cable One in 2017. 

Pritzker and Stephens Capital were investors in Hargray, which Cable One bought in 2021. 

Cable One did not quantify how large the investment in Clearwave Fiber will be, but said its own contributions to the JV represent about 3% of its consolidated revenue in Q3 2021.  According to its financial statements, Cable One had Q3 total revenue of $430.2 million, meaning its investment in the Clearwave JV is about $13 million.

“We look forward to supporting and sharing in Clearwave Fiber’s growth over the coming years while remaining focused on our primary business, increasing penetration rates, integrating recently acquired companies and driving higher margins and greater free cash flow,” Cable One CEO Julie Laulis said in a press release. “We did not take lightly our choice of partners in this transaction and are excited to be working with like-minded individuals who share our core principles.”

Bank Street Group acted as lead financial advisor to Cable One, and Ernst & Young advised on the financial and operational carve-out of Clearwave Fiber. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP and Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP acted as legal advisors to Cable One. Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Covington & Burling LLP acted as legal advisors to the investors on this transaction. ■

Point Broadband, a high-speed internet service provider based in West Point, Georgia, said it has received an investment from private equity firm GTCR to help accelerate its expansion plans. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Point Broadband was founded in 2017 and offers fiber-to-the-premises broadband service to residential and business customers in several markets east of the Mississippi River. The company said it is actively expanding its footprint via FTTP builds in near adjacent markets,  and that the investment from GTCR will help accelerate plans to expand its network into underserved communities. 

"GTCR's strategic investment will help accelerate the deployment of our fiber-based broadband solutions to a range of markets, including small town USA and rural America," Point Broadband co-founder and CEO Todd Holt said in a press release. "GTCR shares our core values of customer service and community engagement and has a proven track record of deploying capital to build state-of-the-art broadband networks. We are excited to welcome GTCR to the Point Broadband family as we enter our next phase of growth."

Stifel served as lead financial advisor and Houlihan Lokey served as co-financial advisor to Point Broadband. Credit Suisse and Rothschild & Co. served as financial advisors and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to GTCR.

"Point Broadband has a strong focus on best-in-class customer service supported by a localized presence in the communities they serve, and we believe Point is well-positioned to serve the growing demand for broadband services in markets across the nation," GTCR managing director Mark Anderson said in a press release. 

Chicago-based private equity company GTCR said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy Consumer Cellular, the wireless service provider focused on older users, in a deal some reports value at about $2.3 billion.

GTCR has been an aggressive player in the rural cable market -- it recently sold an interest in its Mega Broadband Investments, parent of Vyve Broadband, to Cable One for $547.1 million. 

With the Consumer Cellular buy, GTCR gains about 4 million subscribers, mostly aged 50 and over. Ed Evans, a long-time wireless executive, will succeed Consumer Cellular founder John Marick as CEO of Consumer Cellular after the close of the deal, expected in the fourth quarter. Marick will remain a substantial shareholder of the company and will retain his seat on its board of directors. 

"John and the Consumer Cellular team have built a tremendous business that is well-positioned for long-term success," GTCR managing director David Donnini said in a press release. "The entire Consumer Cellular organization should be proud of the business they have built. We look forward to Ed working with the Company and its employees to continue Consumer Cellular's legacy of growth and innovation."

According to reports, GTCR beat out bidders including Dish Network, Altice USA and a group led by Boost Mobile founder Peter Adderton. 

"I am excited to partner again with GTCR and look forward to continuing Consumer Cellular's mission of providing its customers with exceptional service and competitively priced wireless plans," Evans said in the press release. "GTCR brings significant resources and experience in building industry-leading companies and together we expect to further grow Consumer Cellular's subscriber base and expand its services offering.”

Credit Suisse and Raymond James served as financial advisors and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to GTCR. BofA Securities served as exclusive financial advisor and Kell, Alterman & Runstein, LLP served as legal advisor to Consumer Cellular.

CableOne said it has agreed to purchase a 45% interest in Mega broadband Investments Holdings from private equity firm GTCR, parent of small market cable and high-speed internet provider Vyve Broadband, for $547.1 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. 

In addition to the stake, Cable One also has the right to purchase the remaining interest in Mega Broadband at a predetermined earnings multiple, beginning in 2023. 

Mega Broadband was formed in 2017 by private equity firm GTCR, which rolled up several small cable and broadband service providers, including Vyve, Northland Communications and Eagle Communications earlier in the decade. Those operations were combined under the Vyve Broadband name and provide service to customers in rural markets across Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Vyve’s network passes about 630,000 homes.

“This strategic investment in MBI reflects a continuation of our commitment to provide rural America with reliable high-speed internet service,” said Cable One CEO Julie Laulis in a press release. “MBI has developed an excellent network in geographies complementary to our existing footprint and we are excited to share in its future growth. MBI’s operating model and local-first focus mirrors our own and we are pleased to partner with MBI.”

MBI has upgraded systems and a high-capacity plant with more than 15,800 network plant miles, including over 4,100 fiber route miles, capable of delivering Gigabit speeds across its footprint.

Related: Fulfilling a Vision of Small Town Broadband 

“This transaction represents the next step of MBI’s ongoing transformation, and I am excited to have the backing of Cable One alongside GTCR,” said MBI CEO Phil Spencer in a press release. “Over the last few years our team has invested significant capital to upgrade our networks, roll out Gigabit internet service, and enhance business services across our footprint. Under our new partnership, we plan to continue making significant investments in our network, our communities, and our employees.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor and Credit Suisse acted as financial advisor to MBI.

Locke Lord LLP acted as legal advisor and Truist Securities, Inc. acted as financial advisor to Cable One.

“We are excited by Cable One’s investment in MBI. We view Cable One as a leader in the industry with its broadband-first approach, which we have sought to emulate at MBI,” said GTCR managing director Stephen Jeschke in a press release. “We look forward to our partnership and our collective continued investment to advance the broadband networks in the rural communities MBI serves.”

Chicago-based private equity fund GTCR and Mega Broadband Investments said Monday that they have completed the purchase of small cable and telecom company Vyve Broadband.

Vyve provides high-speed data, video and voice services to customers in mostly rural markets in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia and Wyoming. The deal was first announced in July. Terms were not disclosed.

Related: Fulfilling a Vision of Small Town Broadband 

This is the third cable purchase for Mega Broadband -- in October 2018 it bought Northland Communications and in August completed a deal for the broadband assets of Eagle Communications.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel, PricewaterhouseCoopers served as accounting advisor, and Lazard Middle Market LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to GTCR and MBI.

Private equity firm GTCR has teamed with Mega Broadband Investment to buy small cable operator Vyve Broadband, a provider of voice, video and data based in Shawnee, Okla. Terms were not disclosed.

Vyve provides high-speed data, television and voice services to residential and business customers in rural markets across Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia and Wyoming. The purchase will be completed through GTCR’s previously established management partnership with MBI and comes less than a year after MBI’s initial investment in Northland Communications. MSI said in a press release that the deal will double its footprint.

Related: Fulfilling a Vision of Small Town Broadband

MBI is headed by long-time cable executive Phil Spencer. MBI and GTCR have partnered before --first in 2012 to form Rural Broadband Investments and later in 2017 the two established MBI – a second management start-up with Mr. Spencer – to focus on acquiring rural broadband assets. Last year the two companies purchased Northland Communications. 

“The acquisition of Vyve is an exciting addition to MBI following our recent platform acquisition of Northland,” Spencer said in a press release. “Vyve has developed an excellent network in attractive geographies and we look forward to leveraging Vyve’s state-of-the-art infrastructure to continue to rollout enhanced high-speed data services to both our residential and commercial customers. Further, Vyve has an outstanding employee base, and we plan to build upon the excellent work they have done to date in efforts to continuously improve the quality of service to our customers.”

GTCR and MBI’s investment in Vyve will be funded from GTCR Fund XII, a private equity fund raised in 2017 with $5.25 billion of limited partner capital commitments. Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel, PricewaterhouseCoopers served as accounting advisor and Lazard Middle Market LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to GTCR and MBI.

“The Vyve acquisition is an exciting opportunity to continue to build our investment in the cable industry,” GTCR managing director Phil Canfield said in a press release. “We look forward to continuing our work with Phil Spencer and his team to build a leading cable platform through increasing high-speed data penetration, growth in commercial services, and additional accretive acquisitions.”

GTCR and MBI’s investment in Vyve will be funded from GTCR Fund XII, a private equity fund raised in 2017 with $5.25 billion of limited partner capital commitments. Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel, PricewaterhouseCoopers served as accounting advisor and Lazard Middle Market LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to GTCR and MBI.

Private equity firm GTCR said Tuesday (Oct. 2) that it has completed its purchase of Seattle-based cable operator Northland Communications, through its portfolio company Mega Broadband Investments.

The deal was first announced in August. 

Founded in 1981, Northland provides high-speed data, television, and voice services to residential and business subscribers in rural markets in the Southeast, Texas, and the Northwest.

GTCR and MBI first established their partnership in 2017 to purchase rural broadband providers. MBI chief executive Phil Spencer was previously CEO of Rural Broadband Investments, a GTCR-backed rural service provider that acquired several small operators across the country and was sold to Cable One last year.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel and PricewaterhouseCoopers served as accounting advisor to GTCR. Perkins Coie LLP provided legal counsel and Lazard Middle Market LLC served as exclusive M&A advisor to Northland.

Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR and Mega Broadband Investments said they have agreed to purchase Northland Communications, a voice, video and high-speed data provider to rural market customers in the Southeast, Texas and the Northwest. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

GTCR and MBI first established their partnership in 2017 to purchase rural broadband providers. MBI chief executive Phil Spencer was previously CEO of Rural Broadband Investments, a GTCR-backed rural service provider that acquired several small operators across the country and was sold to Cable One last year.

"The acquisition of Northland Communications is a great first step and provides us with an excellent platform to build upon," Spencer said in a statement. "Northland has laid the groundwork by beginning network upgrades that will give us state-of-the-art infrastructure through which to rollout enhanced high-speed data services to both our residential and commercial customers. Further, Northland has an outstanding employee base, and we plan to continue building upon the excellent work they have done to date while investing tens of millions of incremental dollars into the network over the course of our first year of ownership."

Northland owns and operates smaller-market cable systems in Alabama, California, Georgia, Idaho, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.

"Along with the rest of my executive team I want to thank all the Northland employees for the success we have had at Northland over the last 37 years," Northland founder John Whetzell said in a statement. "We have enjoyed a tremendous run and I am excited to watch the organization continue to thrive under GTCR's ownership and Phil's leadership."

GTCR and MBI's investment in Northland will be funded from GTCR Fund XII, a private equity fund with $5.25 billion of limited partner capital commitments. Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel and PricewaterhouseCoopers served as accounting advisor to GTCR. Perkins Coie LLP provided legal counsel to Northland.

"We are excited to continue our partnership with two-time GTCR CEO Phil Spencer," GTCR managing director Phil Canfield s aid in a statement. "We have evaluated numerous opportunities within the cable industry and believe that Northland represents an exciting platform. John and his team deserve a tremendous amount of credit for building Northland into what it is today and we look forward to carrying on John's legacy as we continue growing the business both organically and via complementary acquisitions."

Cable One said it has agreed to purchase mid-sized cable operator NewWave Communications from private equity group GTCR for $735 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

Buying NewWave, headquartered in Sikeston, Mo.,  will add about 214,000 residential primary service units (PSUs, a measure of video, voice and broadband customers) in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas to Cable One. Phoenix-based Cable One had 315,589 residential video customers, 466,668 residential broadband customers and 100,510 residential  telephony customers at the end of the third quarter.

“We are excited about our acquisition of NewWave, which operates in non-urban markets similar to ours and has significant high-speed data and business services opportunities that we are well-positioned to execute on,” said Cable One CEO Julie Laulis in a statement. “The transaction represents an attractive opportunity to utilize Cable One’s existing balance sheet capacity for a value-enhancing acquisition.”

NewWave was formed by one of cable’s pioneering families – the Gleasons – after the demise of its Galaxy Communications in 2001. The Gleasons built NewWave to about 90,000 subscribers before selling it in 2013 to Rural Broadband Investments, then a new entrant to the space backed by GTCR. Terms of that deal were never disclosed but sources in the financial community at the time said it could have sold for as much as $300 million. That would mean with the recent sale, GTCR more than doubled its money.   

The 2013 deal with RBI was the second for the Gleasons – in 2011 they sold about 70,000 subscribers to Time Warner Cable for $265 million. And the family wasn’t out of the business just yet. In 2013 former NewWave president Jim Gleason formed Vast Broadband, a provider of video, voice and data service to about 50,000 customers in South Dakota, northwestern Iowa and southwestern Minnesota, with longtime backer Pamlico Capital.

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With the addition of NewWave, the combined company will serve more than 1.2 million PSUs. NewWave has fully-upgraded systems and a high capacity plant, including more than 10,500 network plant miles and over 3,700 fiber miles. That seems to fit in with Cable One’s broadband-centric strategy, which has favored high-speed Internet customer growth over video subscriber gains.

“It has been my great pleasure to lead the NewWave team these past several years, and I am proud of the hard work of our employees and their many accomplishments,” said NewWave CEO Phil Spencer in a statement. “Over the last four years we have invested significant capital to upgrade our networks, roll out 100 Mbps internet service and enhance our business services. We are excited to become a part of the Cable One team. We both share a common vision and commitment to bring high-quality products and services to the communities we serve.”

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The deal is valued at about 11.5 times NewWave’s last quarter annualized (LQA) cash flow of $64 million for Q4 2016, before cost synergies and 8.4 times after cost savings of about $24 million are realized and 6.6 times after estimated tax benefits, according to Cable One.

Cable One estimates that the combined company would have annual revenue of  more than $1 billion and cash flow margins of  about 41% before cost synergies. The purchase is expected to provide estimated tax benefits of about $152 million on a present value basis.

Cable One said it plans to finance the deal with $650 million of senior secured loans and cash on hand.

J.P. Morgan acted as financial advisor, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP acted as legal advisor to Cable One on the transaction. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Waller Capital and Garrett M. Baker Advisors served as financial advisors to RBI and GTCR. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel and PriceWaterhouseCoopers served as accounting advisor to RBI and GTCR.