Orbitel sale to bring more jobs to community

Mayor Kelly Anderson and Maricopa’s City Council recently approved the transfer of Orbitel Communications, LLC’s operating license to IH Orbitel, Inc and MCG Capital Corporation.

Under the agreement current Orbitel partners Rick Anderson and J.R. Spalj will be selling their stake in Orbitel to MCG Capital. All management, administration, customer service and technical employees will continue to be based in Maricopa with additional jobs opening in coming weeks.

“This is bringing more jobs to Maricopa and more capital resources so Orbitel can locally grow with Maricopa, providing state of the art communications,” said Orbitel Communications President Keith Kirkman. “We have found a partner committed to local service by local employees, with the depth of resources to continue building outstanding telecommunications services for our city.”

Orbitel President Keith Kirkman sees the company’s transfer as a move resulting in more capital resources and more jobs for Maricopa.

Orbitel Communications, LLC was the city’s first cable operator and is a leading provider of cable, high-speed Internet and telephone service. When Orbitel first came to Maricopa in 2001, it was seen by many as a daring move since, at the time, the city’s future was uncertain. The area was being developed with 2,000 homes. It was hard for the city to get cable and high-speed Internet service providers to invest in Maricopa.

“Rick Anderson and J.R. Spalj have always had a vision for Maricopa,” said Kirkman. “They stood on a vast desert over five years ago where CVS now is and pioneered a cable television, Internet and telephone company that is now Maricopa’s finest. They shared the vision of the early developers who saw the great potential of this area.”

MCG Capital is a publicly traded business development company with a market capitilization worth a reported $1.2 billion. It provides capital to support the growth and value creation strategies of small to mid-sized companies.

Kirkman said the transfer process should be complete by the end of February.

Photos by Aaron Thacker