Zayo Group To Buy Michigan Fiber-Optic Provider

By Josh Long

Zayo Group, the bandwidth infrastructure provider, continues to gobble up networks.

The company on Wednesday announced an agreement to purchase Arialink, a fiber-optic service provider in Michigan.

Zayo said the acquisition adds 930 new route miles to its national footprint, including 400 miles of metropolitan networks in Ann Arbor and Lansing, Mich. Arialink provides dark fiber, Ethernet and optical transport services to education, government agency and enterprise customers within its footprint.

“Arialink has built a great business by extending their fiber-based Ethernet network to key businesses and government agencies in Michigan,” says Glenn Russo, executive vice president of corporate strategy and development for Zayo Group. “We have worked with Arialink for some time and adding their reach to Zayo’s national network will allow us to offer a broader range of solutions to our collective customers.”

The $18 million acquisition excludes assets and customers related to residential services that are being spun out to the previous owners of Arialink.

Louisville, Colo.-based Zayo said it expects the acquisition to close in the second quarter.

It was just a few days ago that Zayo Group announced its biggest deal ever: a $2.2 billion acquisition of AboveNet.