Transaction will help to accelerate Johnson’s growth and further position the company for long-term success
Greenhall Capital Partners, LLC (“Greenhall”), an operationally-focused control private equity firm that pursues buyouts in the middle market, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Johnson Communications, LLC (“Johnson” or the “Company”), a leading digital infrastructure wireless service provider that specializes in rural fiber-optic telecom deployment. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition recognizes Johnson’s outstanding track record, strong geographic footprint, and proven ability to strategically and successfully scale its business over the long term. Greenhall, through its growth improvement method, Valued Management for the Future (V.M.F.)®, will seek to create immediate value by providing Johnson with additional support, resources and financial capabilities to advance its mission of providing unmatched design and engineering, construction, installation, maintenance, and project management solutions to its customers and pursue further growth across its business operations.
Established in 2000, Johnson Communications serves as a telecom service provider to two significant federally backed cooperatives, including the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program and the $20 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. The Company has continually set the gold standard in the rural fiber-optic telecom industry with its unwavering commitment to operational excellence underpinned by a strong management team of veteran industry professionals, many of whom have been with the Company for more than 15 years, and a deep bench of dedicated field employees. Johnson has consistently forged strong partnerships with its customers by delivering superior performance, innovative engineering and unparalleled expertise in deploying fiber-optic telecommunications networks in aerial and underground formats.
Following the close of the transaction, Johnson’s existing management team, led by founder and CEO, Chad Johnson, will remain intact and continue to oversee the Company’s business operations on a day-to-day basis from its headquarters in Alvarado, Texas.
Chad Johnson, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Communications, said, “Since our founding nearly 25 years ago, our focus has been the same – be seen as the leading rural fiber-optic telecom company and provide the best service to our customers. We have stayed true to our vision, and I am proud of what we’ve accomplished with respect to executing against our strategic objectives to date, maintaining high standards, pursuing mutual success with our customers and investing in our most valuable asset, our people. Curtis Ofori and Otis Ofori from Greenhall share our core values and are committed to helping us achieve our long-term objectives, while maintaining our customer-focused approach. We are looking forward to partnering with them and to this next chapter of Johnson’s growth.”
Curtis Ofori, Co-Founder of Greenhall Capital, said, “Our focus on founder and family-owned businesses, ability to develop and deploy creative capital solutions, and longstanding experience in mission critical and essential services companies make us uniquely positioned to partner with Johnson Communications and their executive management team. We have tremendous respect for Chad and his team of talented, dedicated employees and look forward to helping build on the Company’s success over the coming years.”
Otis Ofori, Co-Founder of Greenhall Capital, added, “Johnson Communications is a leader among its peers, having distinguished itself by consistently delivering the highest quality wireless, fiber-optic and broadband solutions and services to its customers. We believe the telecommunications industry will remain a large, growing and resilient market and significant industry tailwinds will create opportunities to further scale the Company’s platform.”
Founded in 2018, Greenhall has specialized in buyouts often driven by operational, transactional and/or structural value. The firm has a proven track record of transforming businesses through infusions of equity capital, talent and operational expertise to help position them for future growth. Within the telecommunications industry, Greenhall previously invested in and exited a telecommunication services company, which maintained 12 offices and employed more than 750 employees across the U.S.
McGuireWoods served as legal counsel to Greenhall Capital. Killen & Dennis, PC served as legal counsel to Johnson Communications. Zarren Law Group served as legal counsel to Fvlcrum Partners. Greenberg Traurig served as legal counsel to Lafayette Square. Fvlcrum Partners provided co-equity as a co-sponsor and Lafayette Square provided debt financing. Founder M&A acted as exclusive financial advisor to Greenhall and Johnson Communications.
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