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GFiber Is Merging With Astound Broadband, Likely Expanding to More Areas
The new company will combine GFiber's metro networks in 19 states with Astound's infrastructure in 11 states, creating a national fiber broadband provider under Stonepeak's majority ownership.
Recently, Alphabet announced it is spinning out GFiber and combining it with Astound Broadband under Stonepeak majority ownership, while retaining a significant minority stake.
Amid high infrastructure costs, Alphabet opted for a smaller role as GFiber sought external capital and focus to fund its next expansion phase with Stonepeak and external investors.
GFiber and Astound together cover multiple markets, with GFiber's executive team leading the merged business, which is majority owned by Stonepeak since 2020.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and usual closing conditions and is expected to close in calendar Q4, with the companies saying the combined company aims to become a national network platform.
GFiber traces its roots to Google Fiber's 2010 launch and 2012 Kansas City service start; pairing this Alphabet experiment with private equity-owned ISPs reshapes U.S. broadband, though financial terms and the new company's name remain undisclosed.