New York, Paris, London | 17 January 2023
Antin Infrastructure Partners (“Antin”, Ticker: ANTIN – ISIN: FR0014005AL0) announced today that it has completed the acquisitions of Empire Fiber Internet and North Penn Telephone (together, “Empire”), leading fiber-to-the-premise (“FTTP”) broadband providers in New York and Pennsylvania.
With a network of 1,280 fiber route miles servicing over 96,000 addresses and 29,000 customers, Empire is the independent fiber provider of choice in both Western New York and Northern Pennsylvania and plans to continue to expand its high speed fiber broadband footprint across the region. In 2021, Empire was rated as the “Fastest ISP in the U.S.” by PC Mag.
The Wagner family, which has controlled Empire since 1946, retained an ownership stake in the company and Brian Wagner will remain on the company’s board of directors. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Francisco Abularach, Senior Partner at Antin, commented: “Empire is uniquely positioned to leverage its expansive fiber network to provide broadband services to underserved parts of New York and Pennsylvania. We are thrilled to partner with the Empire management team to support the next chapter of the company’s growth.”
Jim Baase, CEO at Empire, added: “Empire is one of the preeminent FTTP providers in the regions we serve and the Empire-Antin partnership will enable us to grow more quickly. With still a substantial opportunity ahead, we are excited to partner with Antin to help secure that future growth and provide high speed broadband access to consumers across our footprint.”
Brian Wagner, member of the Empire board of directors, added: “Empire has been a part of my family since 1946. We couldn’t be more proud of the track record of success and customer service that the company has achieved, which is entirely a testament to the tremendous people that work here. We are excited to see what the team can achieve under Antin’s ownership.”
Citizens, CIT (a division of First Citizens Bank), and Webster Bank acted as lead arrangers on the debt financing, with Citizens also acting as financial advisor to Antin. Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Morgan Lewis & Bockius acted as legal advisors to Antin. Harter Secrest & Emery acted as legal advisors to Empire.
About Empire
Founded in 1896 and based in Prattsburgh, NY, Empire is a regional broadband provider proudly serving large areas of New York and Pennsylvania. Today, the company operates a fiber network of 1,280 route miles servicing over 29,000 customers and 96,000 addresses, of which 95% are served by fiber. Empire offers a wide range of products and services, including high-speed fiber internet, voice and digital TV services. In 2017 and 2018, Empire Access was awarded Best Internet Service Provider in the Southern Tier region of New York. In 2021, Empire was named Fastest Internet Provider in the U.S. by PC Mag.
About Antin Infrastructure Partners
Antin Infrastructure Partners is a leading private equity firm focused on infrastructure. With over €29 billion in assets under management across its Flagship, Mid Cap and NextGen investment strategies, Antin targets investments in the energy and environment, digital, transport and social infrastructure sectors. With offices in Paris, London, New York, Singapore and Luxembourg, Antin employs over 190 professionals dedicated to growing, improving and transforming infrastructure businesses while delivering long-term value to portfolio companies and investors. Majority owned by its partners, Antin is listed on Euronext Paris (Ticker: ANTIN – ISIN: FR0014005AL0).
