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Town Considers |
By Scott MacKeen The change request is due to a change in ownership at RCN. In March, Boston-based ABRY Partners, a private equity investment firm, announced that it had secured a $1.2 billion buyout of RCN. The transaction, in which ABRY assumes $630 million of RCN’s debt, requires approvals from the communities that are currently RCN users and also from state and federal cable agencies. The deal is slated to close by August, but it will not involve changes in management or the current services RCN provides, according to Tom Wells, legal counsel for ABRY.“Nothing is changing,” said Wells, as he fielded questions from Selectmen at a May 27 license hearing. “This is transparent to the customer. The management stays the same.” The only shift in management that may happen would be a change in the chief executive officer position at RCN, but that would have no direct effect on customers, according to Wells. Thomas Steel Jr., vice president at RCN, said the buyout is welcome by the company, which has struggled to establish finances to meet its long-range goals since filing for bankruptcy protection five years ago. “Your approval [of the license transfer] gives us a better chance to expand in Milton,” Steel told the Selectmen. The town has two cable providers, RCN and media giant Comcast. Only about 600 residents currently subscribe to RCN, according to Steel. The company was formed in Boston in 1996 and later expanded to New York, Chicago and other major markets. Founded in 1989, ABRY currently operates two cable companies, Quincy-based Atlantic Broadband Inc. and Texas-based Grande Communications. Wells said the company’s move to take over RCN is a “significant investment” that will allow the company to compete locally with Comcast. “You have one powerful cable company [in Comcast] and an excellent cable company [in RCN] that lacks the resources to compete,” said Wells, adding that other communities so far have been receptive to the move. “We see RCN as a great investment. It’s a system we want and it’s a system we look forward to running. We’re here to put the cash in.” Wells stressed that ABRY is committed to staying within the bounds of the town’s contract with RCN, which is in effect until 2015. Selectmen were not ready to vote on the proposed license transfer, partly because they were not a full board. Member John Shields was absent from the hearing due to the recent death of his brother, 51-year-old James Shields, of Rockland. There were also questions asked about precise details of the cable transfer that the company representatives were not immediately able to provide. The hearing will be continued on a date to be determined. |
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