Zayo to Buy Rest of USCarrier

Zayo Group on Thursday announced an agreement to acquire the remaining ownership interest in USCarrier, a fiber-based wholesale service provider in the Southeast.

Zayo is buying the remaining 50 percent interest in USCarrier from its current shareholders for $13.5 million.

Atlanta-based USCarrier provides such transport services as Ethernet and Wavelengths mostly to telecom providers and operates a 3,700-mile regional fiber network that spans Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee. In October 2010, Zayo purchased a 50 percent interest in USCarrier through its acquisition of American Fiber Systems.

Zayo, based in Louisville, Colo., said it will fund the acquisition from cash on hand and anticipates the deal will close during the fourth quarter.

"The transport services that USCarrier provides fit well with Zayo’s focus on core high bandwidth services," said Glenn Russo, executive vice president for corporate strategy and development for Zayo Group, in a statement.