Citizens Mutual Telephone Cooperative, known as CMTech, has completed its acquisition of Van Buren Telephone Company, bringing together two locally owned telecommunications providers serving southeast Iowa, according to a press release.
The transaction follows a definitive agreement announced in January and the completion of required shareholder, regulatory, and other closing approvals. With the acquisition complete, CMTech and Van Buren Telephone together serve nearly 6,100 residential and business customers across approximately 1,365 square miles of southeast Iowa. Both organizations operate fiber-to-the-premises networks and share a long history of investing in communications infrastructure in the rural communities they serve.
CMTech General Manager Vince Tyson called the acquisition an exciting milestone. “VBT has built an outstanding company with a strong fiber network, dedicated employees and a long tradition of serving its customers and communities,” Tyson said. “By bringing our organizations together, we believe we are creating an even stronger locally owned telecommunications company that can continue investing in southeast Iowa for many years to come. We are honored to welcome VBT’s employees and customers to the CMTech family.”
For Van Buren Telephone customers, there are no immediate changes to service, rates, billing, or local contacts as a result of the acquisition. Customers will continue receiving service from the same local employees, bills will continue to come from Van Buren Telephone Company, and customers can continue contacting the Keosauqua office as they have in the past.
Over the next several months, CMTech will work to integrate the companies’ network, billing, and operational systems. Customers will be notified well in advance of any changes affecting their service plans, billing, or cooperative membership. Following the transition, Van Buren Telephone customers will become member-owners of Citizens Mutual Telephone Cooperative and transition to CMTech service plans. Cooperative members are eligible for annual capital credit allocations and future capital credit retirements based on the cooperative’s financial performance. Van Buren Telephone customers will also gain access to CMTech’s broader portfolio of communications services, including streaming television options, Versitel hosted business phone service, managed Wi-Fi, and other advanced technology solutions.
CMTech Board President Gary Dunlavy emphasized the long-term vision behind the acquisition. “This acquisition represents a long-term investment in southeast Iowa,” Dunlavy said. “Our focus is not simply on combining two companies. It is on preserving local service and local ownership while giving us greater resources to invest in our network, our employees and the communities we serve for decades to come.”
Van Buren Telephone Company was incorporated in 1923 and provides 100 percent fiber-to-the-premises service to residential and business customers across approximately 340 square miles of Van Buren, Jefferson, and Lee counties, including the exchange areas of Birmingham, Bonaparte, Cantril, Keosauqua, Mount Sterling, and Stockport. CMTech, headquartered in Bloomfield, was originally incorporated in 1903 as Citizens Mutual Telephone Company and converted to a member-owned cooperative structure in 2004.
Those with questions can contact Vince Tyson at 641-664-2074.
