INNOVATE Corp.
INNOVATE Corp. (formerly known as HC2 Holdings, Inc. and Primus Telecommunications Group, Inc.) is an American public financial services company founded in 1994.
Primus commenced operations in 1994 intent on being a global, facilities based service provider. They entered the U.S market in 1995 by assembling their core management team and beginning operations.[1]
In 1996, Primus began its global expansion by acquiring Australia's then-fourth largest telecommunications service provider, Axicorp.[citation needed] The same year, Primus obtained a long-distance carrier license in the then-newly deregulated United Kingdom[2] and also released their initial public offering. They completed their public listing the following year with the completion of the sale of more than US$225 million in senior notes and warrants.[1]
Primus' global expansion continued in 1997 with key acquisitions and international network expansion. They completed the build and activation of their Australian switched network, international gateway switches in New York and Los Angeles and trans-Pacific links.[3] 1997 was also the beginning of Primus' growth through acquisitions. In April, Primus purchased Cam-Net Communications Network Inc. to allow them to enter the Canadian long distance market.[4] Later that year, Primus acquired Telepassport LLC and the assets of USFI Inc; this expanded Primus' long distance services operations into Germany, Japan, Austria, Switzerland and South Africa.[5]
1998 saw Primus expand their operations further in Australia with the acquisition of Eclipse Telecommunications Pty. Ltd.[6] and Hotkey Internet Services Pty Limited.[7] These acquisitions, along with Primus' new Australian Carriers License,[8] meant they were able to offer Internet and data services to Australians. This, however, was not Primus' most significant activity in 1998. In February that year they announced the acquisition of TresCom International Inc. for a sum of US$125 million[9][10] which was later completed for US$150 million.[11] The completion of this acquisition increased Primus' customer base to approximately 200,000 corporate, small and medium-sized business, residential and wholesale customers in the North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions. That same year, Primus received international carrier status from Canada's Radio and Telephone Commission[12] and signed a significant deal with Qwest for fibre and increased bandwidth capacity for their U.S points of presence.[13]
