Fairpoint Communications to Acquire Berkshire Telephone

CHARLOTTE, N.C. and KINDERHOOK, N.Y., June 20 -- FairPoint Communications Inc. and Berkshire Telephone Corp. announced today they have signed a definitive stock purchase agreement for FairPoint to acquire Berkshire and its subsidiary, Berkshire Cable Corp., pending required regulatory approvals.

Berkshire Telephone, based in Kinderhook, N.Y., is an independent local exchange carrier that provides voice communication services to over 6,700 access lines serving five communities. Berkshire communities of service are adjacent to Taconic Telephone Corp., a FairPoint company.

The investment advisory firm Falkenberg Capital Corp., based in Denver, Colo., advised Berkshire Telephone.

FairPoint, based in Charlotte, N.C., owns and operates 29 rural exchange companies in 18 states serving more than 243,000 access lines. In New York, FairPoint owns and operates Taconic Telephone and Chautauqua and Erie Telephone Corp. (Westfield, N.Y.), collectively serving over 41,700 access lines.

For more information, visit: www.berkshiretelephone.com