Zayo Group

Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., or Zayo Group, is a privately held company headquartered in Denver, CO, U.S. with European headquarters in London, England. The company provides communications infrastructure services, including fiber and bandwidth connectivity, colocation and cloud infrastructure. Zayo's primary customer segments include wireless carriers, national carriers, ISPs, enterprises and government agencies. Zayo Group was built largely through acquisitions; it took over thirty companies from 2007 to 2014, including AboveNet and 360networks.[3] The company completed an initial public offering of stock raising $600 million in 2014.[4] In 2020, Zayo Group was taken private by global investment firms EQT AB and Digital Colony Partners in a deal valued at $14.3 billion.

Founding and acquisition history

Zayo was founded in 2007 by Dan Caruso, John Scarano and Matt Erickson[5] as a Delaware corporation.[6][7] In 2007, Zayo acquired Memphis Networx,[6] VoicePipe,[8] Onvoy Inc,[8] PPL Telcom[9] and Indiana Fiber Works.[6]

In 2008, Zayo acquired Columbia Fiber Solution,[6] Adesta Communications assets,[10] two sets of fiber assets from Citynet,[11] two sets of fiber assets from Northwest Telephone,[12] and CenturyTel Regional Markets.[12]

In 2009, Zayo acquired FiberNet Telcom Group, Inc.[13]

In 2010, Zayo acquired AGL Networks,[14] American Fiber Systems,[6] and Dolphini's Cummins Station data center and colocation services.[15]

In 2011, Zayo acquired MarquisNet data center business in Las Vegas,[16] and 360networks.[17]

In 2012 Zayo acquired AboveNet,[18] FiberGate,[19] Arialink,[20] US Carrier Telecom,[21] First Telecom Services,[21] and Maryland-based Litecast/Balticore.[22]

In 2013, Zayo acquired Austin-based data center operator Core NAP,[23] Access Communications,[24] Midwest-based dark fiber operator FiberLink,[25] and Corelink Data Centers.

In 2014, Zayo acquired Dallas-based data center operator CoreXchange,[10] French network operator Neo Telecoms SAS[26] and UK-based Geo Networks.[27]

In 2015, the company acquired Latisys, IdeaTek Systems and Viatel. In 2016, Zayo acquired a new Dallas, TX data center from Stream Data Centers,[28] Clearview International and Allstream, Canada's main facilities-based inter-exchange carrier which has its roots in the railway telegraph business CNCP Telecommunications.[29] As of July 2016, Zayo has completed 39 acquisitions.

On November 30, 2016, Zayo Group Holdings Inc said it would buy smaller rival Electric Lightwave for $1.42 billion in cash to expand its fiber network on the U.S. West Coast.[30]

In November 2017, Zayo purchased Spread Networks, a company that operated an 825-mile-long fiber route connecting New York and Chicago.[31]

In January 2018, Zayo announced they would be acquiring Optic Zoo Networks, a Vancouver, BC based fiber operation.[32]

In May 2019, Zayo announced an agreement to be acquired by EQT AB and Digital Colony.[33][34] The deal to take Zayo private was completed in March 2020.[35]

In January 2022, Zayo announced they would be acquiring QOS Networks from majority owner M/C Partners.[36]

In November 2023, Zayo announced the acquisition of a Stuttgart-based fiber infrastructure and network services company, Globalways GmbH.[37]

In February 2024, Zayo announced the appointment of telecommunications executive Nikos Katinakis as its new Chief Technology Officer.[1]

In March 2024, Zayo announced its partnership with Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) developer Netskope for its Managed Edge services.[38]

On March 13, 2025, Zayo announced the intended acquisition of Crown Castle's fiber solutions business for $4.25 billion.[39]

Network and services

Zayo owns a fiber network that spans more than 130,000 route miles in North America and Europe. Zayo operates a Tier 1 IP network, with settlement-free peering with all other Tier 1 providers. Zayo's services include dark fiber, wavelengths, SONET, Ethernet, SD-WAN, IP services, colocation, wireless backhaul and small cells.