DC BLOX Buys Some Fiber

Yesterday saw some interesting fiber M&A from an unexpected source. The data center provider DC BLOX has announced the acquisition of a set of fiber assets from Light Source Communications and Ascendant Capital Fiber. The assets will complement the company’s buildout of its new Cable Landing Station in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

The dark fiber and conduit route in question is still under development, but will stretch 500 miles to connect Myrtle Beach to Charleston SC, Augusta GA, and the Atlanta metro area before terminating in Lithia Springs GA. From there it will connect with the Atlanta data center market, including DX BLOX’s own facility in the Brookhaven area presumably. That will give DC BLOX a unique pipeline from Atlanta directly to the CLS and destinations in Europe and South America.

We don’t often see a data center operator dive into regional and longhaul fiber development projects, partly because they don’t have the talent on hand. DC BLOX will solve that challenge by bringing Light Source CEO Debra Freitas and President/COO Pete Empie on to continue leading the project. They have also brought in former FiberLight VP Mark Fortier to help develop the necessary sales relationships.

DC BLOX’s existing backers at Post Road Group and Bain Capital were also involved with Light Source, while Ascendant Capital Partners joins the ownership team.  Clearly this is a consolidation of efforts associated with a multi-pronged plan for southeastern infrastructure.  It seems likely that there are other related projects on the same drawing board somewhere as well.

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Categories: Datacenter · Fiber Networks · Mergers and Acquisitions