ImOn receives equity investment from Gazette | Business 380

ImOn Communications has received an equity investment from The Gazette Company, ImOn announced today.

Cedar Rapids-based ImOn Communications provides cable TV, high speed Internet, telephone and data services to a majority of Cedar Rapids and Marion, and is expanding services into Hiawatha.

The Gazette Company, based in Cedar Rapids, owns and operates local ABC affiliate KCRG TV-9, The Gazette daily newspaper and websites that include TheGazette.com, KCRG.com, Business380.com and HooplaNow.com.

The amount of the investment and other terms were not disclosed. The Gazette Company will have one seat on ImOn?s board of directors.

ImOn Communications was formed five years ago primarily by local investors who acquired cable assets owned by McLeodUSA.

In a prepared statement, ImOn Chairman Steve Gray described the deal as an ?investment in the community.? He said the equity infusion will enable ImOn to continue to enhance its infrastructure in the area of Internet speeds, cable TV offerings and reliable phone service.

(David Scrivner/The Gazette)

Patrice Carroll, ImOn president and general manager, said the partnership will promote continued investments in technologies such as TV-everywhere, which allows customers to view content on their phones and computers, and other broadband offerings.

?It will also allow us to deliver more video programming and content to our customers the way they want to receive it,? Carroll said.

Chuck Peters, CEO of The Gazette Company, pointed to ImOn?s dedication to and investment in the local community as part of the decision to invest. He said the relationship will provide a partner with which to explore evolving opportunities in digital media delivery.

?It gives us a perspective into that world we don?t have internally today,? Peters said.

Peters said he expects the partnership to reveal opportunities for content provided by The Gazette Company to be used on ImOn platforms, but added that any such deals would be separate from the equity investment. The investment will not affect ?arm?s length? negotiations with ImOn for television carriage rights, Peters said.

ImOn Vice President of Sales and Marketing Jeff Janssen said the partnership could add more local content for ImOn?s customers, perhaps taking local high school sports and entertainment video content from The Gazette Company?s KCRG 9.2 and offering it through a Roku streaming video device.

He said a content library featuring the video content also is a possibility.

The Gazette Company has a history of making equity investments that include stakes in companies in the fields of telephone directory publishing, market research and learning, among others.

Although legal agreements require local municipalities served by ImOn to be notified, the investment does not require regulatory approvals, ImOn?s Janssen said.

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