NewWave To Buy Avenue Broadband

NewWave Communications said Wednesday it has reached an agreement to purchase Avenue Broadband, a small market MSO with customers in Indiana and Illinois.

Avenue, headed by long-time cable executive (and former Allegiance Cable president) Kay Monigold, was formed in 2007. The company has about 54,000 cable, telephone and Internet subscribers in several communities in Illinois and Indiana. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We are proud of our record of service to our customers," Monigold said in a statement. "We have greatly expanded our broadband infrastructure, adding both speed and capacity, now providing virtually all of our systems with internet and phone services. We have also dramatically improved our cable operations, adding channels and introducing HD services. Based on our understanding of NewWave's commitment to system performance and quality, we believe these efforts will continue."

Avenue said in a statement that its 98 employees will make the transition to NewWave after the deal is closed. While no official closing date has been set, it is expected the transaction will be completed in the next 60 days.

"Avenue has built a solid infrastructure that we can easily integrate into our current Illinois and Indiana operations," NewWave president Jim Gleason said in a statement. " The combination will allow us to deploy the fastest and best internet service to Avenue's customers as well as enhance the video and telephone offerings."

NewWave, based in Sikeston, Mo., has about 117,000 customers in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Arkansas. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. advised Avenue Broadband on the transaction