Grain Management, a global investor and solutions provider to the broadband and communications industry, today announced it has agreed to acquire a majority interest in 123Net, a premier fiber internet, colocation, and business voice services provider based in Southfield. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.
123Net has been at the forefront of Michigan connectivity since its founding in 1995. The company has built a 3,100-route-mile network, including long-haul and dense metro fiber network in Michigan’s largest cities.
The company’s network is further enhanced by Michigan’s largest carrier hotel and its high-density data centers in metro Detroit and Grand Rapids. 123Net’s innovative internet exchange became the world’s largest fee-free exchange and North America’s ninth highest traffic exchange overall.
“123Net’s operations have continuously grown through a series of strategic investments that ultimately created one of the Midwest’s largest and most significant telecom enterprises,” says Dan Irvin, CEO of 123Net. “Grain is a sophisticated investor that shares our values and unwavering commitment to best-in-class service for Michigan businesses and communities.
“Together, our capable teams and combined resources will better enable us to serve current customers while attracting new opportunities, including expanding our high-density, A.I.-capable data centers and pursuing BEAD funding to improve affordable, reliable connectivity to unserved and underserved areas.”
Grain’s partnership with 123Net is the culmination of a multi-year relationship with this long-standing and experienced management team, says Raghav Nayar, managing director at Grain, which has offices in Washington, D.C., New York City, Sarasota, and London.
“We think very highly of the disciplined, analytics-driven culture at 123Net, and we believe our synergy enables us to achieve even greater results together,” Nayar adds
Bank Street served as exclusive financial advisor to 123Net in connection with the transaction. 123Net’s leadership team will remain in place and retain a meaningful ownership position.
123Net is a Michigan-based Internet Service Provider (ISP) focused on equipping businesses with an industry-leading data center, network, and voice services. The company provides more than a dozen Fortune 500 companies and thousands of Michigan businesses with leading edge connectivity.
Home of the Detroit Internet Exchange (DET-iX) and the Grand Rapids Internet Exchange (GRR-iX), 123Net operates one of the largest carrier-neutral data centers and peers with technology leaders such as Google, AWS, GM and others.
Founded in 2007, Grain Management is a global investment that believes broadband and digital infrastructure are foundational to the tech-enabled transformation occurring across all industries and facets of society.
For more information on 123Net, visit 123.net/. For more information on Grain Management, visit graingp.com.
