Wave Acquisition - GoWave

Kirkland, WA. – May 22, 2017 – Wave Broadband (Wave), a gigabit fiber and broadband services company, announced today the next step in its strategic growth plan by combining forces with RCN Telecom Services, LLC (RCN) to form the nation’s sixth largest internet and cable operator, and one of the largest independent operators overall. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017, and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

In August 2016, TPG Capital, the global private equity platform of alternative asset firm TPG, acquired both RCN and Grande Communications Networks LLC (“Grande”). TPG is now leading this $2.36 billion acquisition of Wave, and will combine the company with RCN.

“Over the last several years we have accelerated our growth substantially by expanding from our heritage of residential broadband services into enterprise grade fiber,” said Steve Weed, Founder and CEO of Wave. “We are excited that our new partners in TPG and RCN recognize the value of what we have created, and share our passion for creating happy customers – we are eager to enter our next era of growth alongside them.”

Wave will continue to operate as a branded entity headquartered in Kirkland, WA, serving business and residential customers in Washington, Oregon, and California. RCN provides similar services as Wave along the East Coast and in Chicago; Grande’s operates throughout Texas. Wave will continue to grow its residential customer base while also accelerating expansion of its fast-growing commercial and enterprise business segments that have driven much of the company’s recent momentum.

“At RCN and Grande, we pride ourselves on providing the best products, best service, and best value to our customers. Through our partnership with TPG, and by expanding our footprint with Wave, we are creating a market-leading broadband platform with national reach, broad capabilities and expertise, and exciting growth potential,” said Jim Holanda, CEO of RCN and Grande. “We’ve known the team at Wave for many years, and their focus on delivering value to their customers aligns perfectly with ours.”

Bringing Wave, RCN and Grande together creates a regional market leader in next-generation, high-speed data services for residential and business customers with a presence spanning the West Coast, East Coast, Chicago, and Texas.

While working through the closing process over the next several months, the leadership teams from Wave, RCN and Grande will jointly finalize transition plans that leverage the strengths from each entity to best position the collective enterprise for accelerated growth. Wave management will remain significant investors, partnering with majority owner TPG. Wave’s CEO, Steve Weed, will join the combined company’s Board of Directors.

TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with approximately $72 billion of assets under management and offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, and Singapore. TPG’s investment platforms are across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth venture, real estate, credit, and public equity. TPG aims to build dynamic products and options for its investors while also instituting discipline and operational excellence across the investment strategy and performance of its portfolio. For more information, visit www.tpg.com.