Northeast Indiana internet provider Lakeland acquires competitor
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Lakeland Internet, a subsidiary of Fort Wayne-based Surack Enterprises, is purchasing competitor BaseLine Internet in northeast Indiana.
BaseLine primarily operated around the town of Leo, a few minutes outside of Fort Wayne, while Lakeland provides service to a wider area around Angola and the northeastern edges of the state.
Lakeland announced the acquisition in a release, saying it is planning “significant network upgrades” that will take around two months. After that, current BaseLine customers will be automatically transferred to Lakeland’s plan.
The BaseLine purchase marks the second time Chuck Surack’s company has bought another internet provider in the past few years. In 2019 Sweetwater—the musical equipment retailer owned by Surack—bought ZipSpider, which had operated in Angola.
“Lakeland began with the desire to fill a need,” Chuck Surack said in the release. “To bring fast and reliable internet to lake country and surrounding rural areas. With BaseLine’s customer-centric approach to service, it was a natural fit to continue this mission.”
Lakeland General Manager Mark Byler declined to disclose the purchase price of the deal to Inside INdiana Business, but he did say no jobs at BaseLine would be negatively impacted.
Byler added Lakeland has plans to expand beyond its 13 current employees with the purchase of BaseLine.