In the last issue of Red Herring, I wrote a cover story titled The Pragmatics (cannot find the link because the new archives are all fucked up. There is a PDF in my links article section, just in case.) One of the folks which I profiled was Sean Doherty who runs a company called Odyssey Telecorp. He had bought EPIK Communications, a Florida based bandwidth wholesaler and network operator. And today I got the word that he is merging his EPIK with Progress Telecom, a divison of Progress Energy of North Carolina.

The deal is pretty good. The two companies will have about $70 million in revenues, and about $20 million in cash. They have strong network in South Eastern United States and reaches as far up as New York. The regional strategy is pretty smart. With wireless providers and CLECs desperate for bandwidth in that neck of the woods, the two companies together, now known as Progress Telecom would do well. Progress owns 55 percent of the new company, while EPIK owns 45 percent.

it is good to see one of our picks continue to do well.