Shepards and Harveys to sell Hargray Communications

They still have a two- to three-month review period to complete, but the board of directors of Hargray Communications Group has agreed in principal with Morningstar Management and Quadrangle Capital Partners to sell the company.

Quadrangle Capital Partners is a New York City-based private investment company that manages approximately $3 billion in equity. Morningstar Management is based in Hilton Head, S.C., along with Hargray. It is a nine-year-old investment banking advisory firm with more than 30 transactions completed with a variety of financial and business partners.

According to the agreement, Hargray will keep its name and its base in Hilton Head.
Hargray serves Beaufort and Jasper Counties in its home state as well as the greater Savannah, Ga., market. The company is on the progressive side and recently introduced enhanced services such as TV caller ID, where, according to survey results done with its service delivery platform vendor Integra5, 91% of its customers who tried the service are very happy with it--and don’t balk at paying a couple of extra dollars a month for it.

The Hargray board consists of members of the Shepard and Harvey families of South Carolina, who said in a statement that attracting a new investor will enable Hargray to satisfy the demands of its fast-growing market area and continue to deploy industry-leading technologies.

Gloria Taggart, president of Hargray and daughter of its founder Leroy Harvey, who started the company in 1947, informed Hargray employees of the potential sale on January 5. She said the parties will be undergoing due-diligence reviews and exclusive contract negotiations during the next 60 to 90 days. The company has aproximately 400 employees.