Iowa Telecommunications Service has agreed to acquire Montezuma Mutual Telephone in a deal that further consolidates service in rural Iowa.

The acquisition is worth an estimated $10.4 million and will make Montezuma a subsidiary of Iowa Telecom.

The deal is expected to close early next year.

"The Montezuma Telephone Company is a well-run organization that is a natural fit with our company since it is contiguous to our existing service area," said Alan Wells, president of Iowa Telecom.

Montezuma provides telecom, cable and Internet services in a mainly rural area of the Hawkeye State. It has about 2,200 telephone access lines and more than 2,000 total data and cable-television subscribers.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International