By Josh Long

The planned merger between Pac-West Telecomm and UniPoint Holdings appears to be going smoothly at least at the Federal Communications Commission.

In a notice released Monday, the FCC revealed it found that the proposed transaction is “acceptable for filing as a streamlined application” and that unless otherwise notified by the agency the parties can transfer control in about a month. The FCC noted, however, that such authorization is conditioned upon receipt of any other necessary approvals from the agency in connection with the deal.

The FCC gave interested parties until Nov. 21 to file comments on the merger, and reply comments are due Nov. 28, in WC Docket No. 11-173.

The merger between Austin, Texas-based UniPoint Holdings (doing business as PointOne) and San Francisco, Calif.-based Pac-West Telecomm would combine two communications providers of wholesale services that include such offerings as origination, termination, virtual private networks and transport.

On Oct. 14, UPH Holdings Inc., UPH Acquisition Sub Inc., Pac-West Acquisition Company LLC and Pac-West Telecomm filed an application with the FCC to transfer Pac-West  including its wholly owned subsidies, Pac-West Telecomm of Virginia Inc. and Tex-Link Communications Inc.  in order to carry out UPH Holdings’ planned acquisition of Pac-West Telecomm.

The FCC must find that the merger serves the public interest, convenience and necessity.

Under the agreement, the current shareholders in Pac-West’s parent company will acquire a 29.45 percent stake in UPH Holdings. J. Michael Holloway  president and CEO of UniPoint Holdings  will hold an indirect 44.58 percent ownership interest in the company after the transaction closes, according to the FCC.

“With this merger, both companies will be able to provide additional products and services to their customers, along with a significantly broader footprint,” Holloway said on Sept. 7, the date the merger was announced. “Additionally, since the service offerings of both companies overlap in many areas, this merger will provide benefits of enhanced pricing due to our combined scale and network integration synergies.”

UniPoint Holdings does business under the PointOne name. Several years ago, PointOne founders Holloway and David Flanary founded UniPoint to rescue the assets of then-bankrupt PointOne. Flanary currently serves as executive vice president of the company.