RCN to Acquire NEON for $260 Million

RCN Corporation agreed to acquire NEON Communications Group, a facilities-based carrier serving New England and the mid-Atlantic regions, for up to $5.25 per share of NGI common stock, in cash, for expected total consideration of up to approximately $260 million.



The merger combines RCN, a leading competitive provider of video, data, and voice services to residential and business customers in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Chicago metro markets, with NEON's pure play network transport services to carrier and enterprise customers in its twelve-state New England and mid-Atlantic region.



NEON operates a densely built fiber optic network with approximately 4,800 route miles, over 230,000 fiber miles, 22 colocation facilities, and more than 200 points of presence from Maine to Virginia. It serves approximately 120 carrier and enterprise customers.



RCN provides service in the Boston, New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and Chicago metropolitan markets.



"This is a significant strategic acquisition for RCN that scales our high-value commercial segment with another premier regional service provider in our own footprint. This combination of NEON, ConEd Communications and RCN's existing metro and intercity rings will now reach into both Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets for enterprise and carrier customers who are looking for robust alternatives to incumbent providers. Additionally, NEON's dense capillarity improves our ability to deliver seamless, high quality services and creates significant growth potential," commented Peter Aquino, President and CEO of RCN.

http://www.rcn.com

http://www.neoninc.com