- Tilson, a financially troubled construction company, is selling itself to ITG for $22M
- The sale comes after Tilson sued Gigapower over cancelling its contracts
- ITG acquired two other broadband construction firms in the last two years
Telecom construction company Tilson has decided to sell itself, just months after filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Fellow construction firm ITG Communications agreed to purchase almost all of Tilson’s assets for approximately $22 million in cash, Tilson announced Friday evening. The deal, subject to court regulatory approval, is expected to close later this month.
It’s not clear whether Tilson will continue operating as a separate subsidiary post-deal or if it will fully merge with ITG.
A Tilson spokesperson reached out to Fierce with the following statement: "We are not ditching the construction business and have a number of great customers for construction, consulting, engineering, and more that we are excited to move forward with in the partnership with ITG."
Tilson’s troubled backstory
Tilson’s financial troubles were first disclosed in May, when the company filed for Chapter 11 restructuring after one of its largest clients – later revealed to be Gigapower – abruptly cancelled contracts to build fiber networks in Arizona and Nevada.
Shortly after filing for bankruptcy, Tilson sued Gigapower claiming the latter owes Tilson employees more than $200 million in payments after terminating its contract “for convenience.” Gigapower, which is AT&T and BlackRock’s joint venture, has also faced scrutiny from CWA over its broadband labor practices.
Coincidentally, news of Tilson’s sale came a day after Gigapower announced it completed open access network construction in parts of six states – Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.
The proposed transaction “is a key step in our efforts to emerge from Chapter 11 as a stronger, financially sound company with the resources and expertise needed to achieve long-term success,” said Tilson CEO Darrell Ingram in a statement. “ITG's knowledge and expertise in this sector bring tremendous synergies.”
Tilson isn’t the only fiber construction company to face financial strain. Trueline, which was backed by private equity firm Grain Management, shuttered earlier this year after operating for only a few months.
Who is ITG?
Founded in 2013, ITG provides a range of infrastructure services for broadband networks, like fiber installations, outside plant construction, trenching, maintenance and more.
The company has more than 8,000 employees across the U.S. and counts several big-name operators as clients, including AT&T, Altice USA, Charter, Comcast, Cox and Frontier. But it’s also undertaken construction work for a number of rural electric cooperatives.
Prior to buying Tilson, ITG acquired two other construction firms last year – Infinite Communications and Spectra Broadband – to expand its geographic footprint.
9/2/2025 3:36 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with a statement from Tilson.