CanAm Enterprises' Rural Broadband EB-5 Project to expand internet connectivity in Virginia

New York [US], April 19 (ANI/NewsVoir):
announced today that its latest EB-5 offering is a USD 80 million project to support the deployment of broadband service to residents, businesses and other customers within a seven-county rural area of Virginia who are currently not connected to high-speed internet service. The CanAm offering meets the new set-aside category criteria of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 for a "Rural project" which entitles EB-5 immigrant investors to priority visa processing. The development sponsor is All Points Broadband (APB), whose full project encompasses a USD 576 million Accelerated Fiber Deployment Initiative to connect 80,000 unserved residences and businesses in 19 Virginia counties to high-speed internet service. APB is wholly-owned by Searchlight Capital Partners, a private equity firm with extensive expertise investing in the global telecommunications and media sectors.
According to the Federal Communications Commission, approximately 14.5 million Americans still lack internet access in communities across the country. Public policymakers at every level of government have enacted funding support to stimulate public/private investment to close this digital divide, including USD 65 billion in federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Commonwealth of Virginia has been leading this effort within the U.S., having identified and prioritized a campaign to bring near-universal broadband access across the state by 2030.
"A high-speed internet network is now considered essential infrastructure - a necessity of everyday life in how we work, study, do business and stay connected to each other," said Tom Rosenfeld, President and CEO of CanAm Enterprises. "Just as importantly, access to broadband has been proven to strengthen the economic, educational, social service and civic bonds of communities, which all contributes to improved public health and social equity. Bringing service to areas unserved by broadband requires a large investment in fiber-to-the-home (FttH) deployment - which is cost prohibitive unless undertaken with both private and public resources. This project combines private financing with significant public funding support from every level of government to help meet the public policy calling of broadband internet for all," Rosenfeld said.
APB's broadband initiative is being supported by USD 301 million in state and local grant awards that are largely funded through federal programs, USD 80 million from the CanAm EB-5 Loan, and USD 195 million from equity. CanAm's USD 80 million EB-5 loan will be used exclusively to support the seven Rural Project counties in Northern Virginia where APB intends to install approximately 1,200 miles of new FttH fiber-optic cable and operate multiple broadband networks for unserved residences and businesses in those counties.
"For more than 35 years and across close to 65 projects, CanAm has relied on a simple formula - present investors with high quality offerings from best-in-class partners, and the results speak for themselves - USD 2.19 billion in project repayments to more than 4,300 investor families, and more than 8,000 permanent green cards issued to family members," Rosenfeld said. CanAm's diverse portfolio features projects with private and public partners, many of whom have chosen CanAm for multiple ventures, including most recently a green hydrogen production plant in Texas. From building world class R&D facilities to world headquarters for major companies, CanAm's projects consistently provide clients with premier opportunities that have lasting benefits for communities and investors alike.
"CanAm is proud to collaborate with another high-quality partner in ABP and offer an exceptional EB-5 offering that helps to close the digital divide for people and businesses in a seven-county region of rural Virginia," Rosenfeld said.
The public support for APB Accelerated Fiber Deployment Initiative includes funding from the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI) which earmarks grants to broadband service providers that serve customers in areas that are unconnected to high-speed internet. Virginia has allocated approximately USD 700 million of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) award to the VATI program, and anticipates leveraging more than USD 2 billion in matching funds from internet service providers and local governments.
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is administered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS"). The Program provides qualified foreign investors with the opportunity to earn "conditional" or temporary two-year visas in return for investing USD 800,000 in businesses located in Targeted Employment Areas that create at least ten full-time jobs for U.S. workers.
35 years of experience sourcing, underwriting, and promoting immigration-linked investments in the United States and Canada, CanAm has a long and established track record and a reputation of credibility and trust. CanAm has financed more than 60 projects and raised more than USD 3 billion of EB-5 capital. To date, more than USD 2.19 billion of EB-5 capital from more than 4,380 investor-families has been repaid by CanAm sponsored Regional Center Partnerships. CanAm exclusively operates seven USCIS-designated regional centers that are located in the City of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the metropolitan regions of New York and New Jersey, and the states of California, Hawaii, Florida, and Texas.
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