Zayo Group
Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., or Zayo Group, is a privately held company headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, U.S. with European headquarters in London, England. The company provides communications infrastructure services, including fiber and bandwidth connectivity, colocation and cloud infrastructure. Zayo's primary customer segments include wireless carriers, national carriers, ISPs, enterprises and government agencies. Zayo Group was built largely through acquisitions; it took over thirty companies from 2007 to 2014, including AboveNet and 360networks.[2] An initial public offering of stock raised $600 million in 2014.[3] In May 2019, Zayo Group agreed to be acquired by global investment firms EQT Partners and Digital Colony Partners in a deal valued at $14.3 billion.[4]
Type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Communications infrastructure |
Founded | 2007 |
Founders | Dan Caruso John Scarano |
Headquarters | , U.S. |
Key people | Kevin Turner (Chairman) Steve Smith (CEO) Jeff Noto (CFO) |
Services | Fiber and bandwidth connectivity, colocation and cloud infrastructure |
Revenue | US$2.6 billion (2018)[1] |
US$424.9 million (2018)[1] | |
US$101.9 million (2018)[1] | |
Total assets | US$9.2 billion (2018)[1] |
Total equity | US$1.4 billion (2018)[1] |
Owner | EQT Partners Digital Colony |
Number of employees | 3,774 (2018)[1] |
Website | www |
Founding and acquisition history
Zayo was founded in 2007 by Dan Caruso and John Scarano as a Delaware corporation.[5][6] In 2007, Zayo acquired Memphis Networx,[5] VoicePipe,[7] Onvoy Inc,[7] PPL Telcom[8] and Indiana Fiber Works.[5]
In 2008, Zayo acquired Columbia Fiber Solution,[5] Adesta Communications assets,[9] two sets of fiber assets from Citynet,[10] two sets of fiber assets from Northwest Telephone,[11] and CenturyTel Regional Markets.[11]
In 2009, Zayo acquired FiberNet Telcom Group, Inc.[12]
In 2010, Zayo acquired AGL Networks,[13] American Fiber Systems,[5] and Dolphini's Cummins Station data center and colocation services.[14]
In 2011, Zayo acquired MarquisNet data center business in Las Vegas,[15] and 360networks.[16]
In 2012 Zayo acquired AboveNet,[17] FiberGate,[18] Arialink,[19] US Carrier Telecom,[20] First Telecom Services,[20] and Maryland-based Litecast/Balticore.[21]
In 2013, Zayo acquired Austin-based data center operator Core NAP,[22] Access Communications,[23] Midwest-based dark fiber operator FiberLink,[24] and Corelink Data Centers.
In 2014, Zayo acquired Dallas-based data center operator CoreXchange,[9] French network operator Neo Telecoms SAS[25] and UK-based Geo Networks.[26]
In 2015, the company acquired Latisys, IdeaTek Systems and Viatel. In 2016, Zayo acquired a new Dallas, TX data center from Stream Data Centers,[27] Clearview International and Allstream, Canada's main facilities-based inter-exchange carrier which has its roots in the railway telegraph business CNCP Telecommunications.[28] As of July 2016, Zayo has completed 39 acquisitions.
On November 30, 2016, Zayo Group Holdings Inc said it would buy smaller rival Electric Lightwave for $1.42 billion in cash to expand its fiber network on the U.S. West Coast.[29]
In November 2017, Zayo purchased Spread Networks, a company that operated an 825-mile-long fiber route connecting New York and Chicago.[30]
In January 2018, Zayo announced they would be acquiring Optic Zoo Networks, a Vancouver, BC based fiber operation.[31]
In May 2019, Zayo announced an agreement to be acquired by EQT Partners and Digital Colony.[32]
In March 2020, Zayo completes transition into a private company through the acquisition by affiliates of Digital Colony Partners (“Digital Colony”) and the EQT Infrastructure IV fund (“EQT” or “EQT Infrastructure”).
In January 2022, Zayo announced they would be acquiring QOS Networks from majority owner M/C Partners.[33]
Onvoy spinoff
On June 13, 2014, Onvoy spun off from Zayo Group Holdings.[34] On June 16, 2014, Onvoy LLC acquired the assets of Vitelity, a voice over IP provider based in Denver, Colorado.[35] On September 3, 2015, Onvoy LLC acquired Broadvox Communications, a competitive local exchange carrier VoIP service provider for business telecommunications.[36]
Network and services
Zayo owns a fiber network that spans more than 130,000 route miles in North America and Europe. Zayo operates a Tier 1 IP network, with settlement-free peering with all other Tier 1 providers. Zayo's services include dark fiber, wavelengths, SONET, Ethernet, SD-WAN, IP services, colocation, wireless backhaul and small cells.
References
- "US SEC: Form 10-K Zayo Group Holdings, Inc". United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
- BRIAN DEAGON. "IPO Stock Watch: Zayo Group Up 16% In Tough IPO Market ZAYO XENE - Investors.com". Investor's Business Daily.
- IPOdesktop (October 17, 2014). "IPO Preview: Zayo Group Holdings".
- Narcisi, Gina (May 8, 2019). "Fiber Provider Zayo Will Go Private In $14.3 Billion Deal". CRN.
- Raice, Shayndi (December 29, 2010). "Fiber-Optic Networks Regain Some Glow". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- Avery, Greg (November 8, 2013). "Zayo Group's Many Acquisitions Puts it in $1 Billion Club". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- Wirz, Matt (March 1, 2013). "Refis Put the Free in Free Cash Flow". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- "Former ICG Execs in $225 Million Deal". Denver Business Journal. August 30, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- Lindenstein, Joshua (March 21, 2014). "Zayo Mulls Path to Continued Growth". Boulder County Business Report. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- "Zayo Group Acquires Citynet Fiber Network". The Herald-Dispatch. February 18, 2008. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- Gubbins, Ed (June 2, 2008). "Zayo Closes Seventh Acquisition, Eighth to Follow". Connected Planet. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- Kang, Cecilia (June 29, 2009). "Expansion-Minded RCN Sparks Bidding War for N.Y. Telecom". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
- "AGL Networks Sold to Zayo". Atlanta Business Chronicle. June 28, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- Lawley, Erin (September 29, 2010). "Dolphini Networks Split Up, Sold". Nashville Post. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- Miller, Rich (January 3, 2012). "Zayo Acquires MarquisNet Las Vegas Business". Data Center Knowledge. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
- "360networks Being Acquired By Zayo". The Seattle Times. October 7, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- De La Merced, Michael (March 19, 2012). "Zayo to Buy AboveNet for $2.2 Billion to Extend Fiber Network". The New York Times. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
- "Zayo Group Completes FiberGate Purchase". Channel Partners Online. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- "Zayo Completes Arialink Acquisition". Channel Partners. May 2, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- Moore, Paula (October 18, 2013). "Zayo Group's Success Built on Bigger Bandwidth". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
- Pankratz, Howard (December 14, 2012). "Louisville's Zayo Group buys Baltimore Firm for $22 Million". The Denver Post. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- "Zayo Enters Austin Market with Core NAP Acquisition". Datacenter Dynamics FOCUS. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
- Avery, Greg (October 7, 2013). "Zayo Group Buys Denver-Chicago Fiber-optic Route". Denver Business Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- Malik, Om (October 7, 2013). "It's Fiber Monday: Zayo & Time Warner Cable Go Fiber Network Shopping". GIGAOM. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
- Rath, John (April 29, 2014). "Zayo Acquires Neo Telecoms". Data Center Knowledge. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- Scroxton, Alex (May 19, 2014). "Zayo Buys UK Dark Fibre Provider Geo Networks". Computer Weekly. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
- "Stream Sells Dallas Data Center to Zayo | Data Center Knowledge". Data Center Knowledge. January 7, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
- "Manitoba Telecom Services sells Allstream business for $465M". Retrieved September 29, 2016.
- "Zayo acquires Electric Lightwave for $1.42B, deepens western market fiber holdings". fiercetelecom.com. November 30, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
- "Zayo buying New York-Chicago fiber line for $127 million". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- "Zayo makes $25 million purchase in western Canada". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
- Linnane, Ciara. "UPDATE: Zayo stock zooms 9% premarket on news to be taken private for $35 a share in cash". MarketWatch. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- "Zayo Group to Acquire QOS Networks From M/C Partners". businesswire.com. January 12, 2022.
- [25]
- "Law Enforcement Support" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- "It's Official: Onvoy Becomes National Powerhouse With Acquisition of Broadvox". September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2016.