The ZenFi, Cross River Merger Is Now Done

Two of the New York metro area’s dynamic, younger fiber builders are now one. ZenFi Networks and Cross River Fiber have completed the merger they announced this past Spring, with the combined company to operate as ZenFi Networks.

The merger combines ZenFi’s dense NYC metro fiber footprint with Cross River Fiber’s carefully constructed tour through suburban northern New Jersey. The combined company spans 700 route miles, hooks up 119 on-net buildings and 47 colo facilities, with some 6,000 wireless backhaul locations under contract.

The two companies started out focusing on different opportunities. ZenFi has built his network with an eye toward C-RAN and the next generation wireless backhaul network that 5G will require. Cross River’s early buildouts were focused on low latency connectivity between the key financial nodes in northern New Jersey, and then expanded to the broader enterprise opportunity.

Just where they will aim next should be an interesting story.  The combined company will have access to greater resources and could widen its focus. There is plenty of opportunity left in the NYC metro area of course, and ZenFi’s buildout within NYC still has plenty of nodes left to reach.  On the other hand, other major metro markets might benefit from the model that ZenFi has put together.

ZenFi’s Ray La Chance is CEO of the combined company, while Cross River’s Vincenzo Clemente will take on the roles of President and COO.

 

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Categories: Mergers and Acquisitions · Metro fiber