Private equity firm Grain combines fiber operators Great Plains and Ritter

The private equity firm Grain Management is combining two of its fiber operators—Ritter Communications and Great Plains Communications—into one entity called Rightfiber. Heath Simpson, currently CEO of Ritter Communications, will serve as CEO of Rightfiber, and Todd Foje, currently CEO of Great Plains Communications, will serve as executive chairman. Foje said that the reasoning behind the combination is that there are advantages to scale. “Our network is going to become a 20-state regional network that opens up additional opportunities with hyperscalers, wireless customers and others,” he said. The bigger scale also gives Rightfiber easier and less-expensive access to capital and stronger buying power with suppliers. Those financial benefits will, in turn, allow the company to make more investments in information technology and cybersecurity. “We can spread that expertise and investment across a larger organization, so it creates efficiencies from that standpoint,” said Foje.