Schurz Communications said it agreed to purchase Hiawatha Broadband Communications, a video and high-speed data service provider based in Winona, Minn. Terms were not disclosed.
The company will continue to be based in Winona and operate under the Hiawatha Broadband Communications name. Pending regulatory approvals, the purchase is expected to close on Dec. 31.
This is the second purchase Schurz has made this year. In July it announced the purchase of Vast Broadband.
“HBC has been an integral part of Southeast Minnesota for 20 years and that’s not going to change,” said Schurz Communications CEO Todd Schurz in a statement. “We plan to continue investing in the business and the employees because we know that our success is at the local level where the day to day business will be run. On behalf of Schurz we want to welcome HBC to our family of companies and look forward to growing together.”
HBC offers gigabit broadband, telephone, and video service with more than 300 channels, video on demand and extensive local high school and college sporting events produced by HBC Studios. The company also has wholesale, construction, business consulting and engineering divisions and is the operator of the RS Fiber Cooperative gigabit fiber-to-the-farm project in Minnesota.
"The board and management of HBC carefully evaluated whether Schurz was the right company to carry forward the true spirit and intent of what the HBC team has worked hard to create in Minnesota,” Hiawatha Broadband CEO Dan Pecarina said in a statement. “Schurz believes, as we do, that a good company is actively engaged in and cares about the communities they serve. Schurz focuses on employees and customers and believes that local employees making the day-to-day decisions serve the customer best. We’re pleased to join Schurz as they share our vision of not just what HBC is today but also what we believe HBC can be in the future.”
Schurz, based in Mishawaka, Ind., owns cable systems and publishes daily and weekly newspapers in medium and small markets and has a presence in Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and South Dakota.
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