US regulator the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted approval for SoftBank's acquisition of rural Internet Service Provider (ISP) WideOpenWest (WOW!).

It would mean that WOW! would become one of the first US broadband providers to fall under majority Japanese ownership.

The acquisition is tied into SoftBank's $4 billion acquisition of digital infrastructure investor Digital Bridge, which was announced at the end of last year.

As covered by DCD sister publication SDx Central earlier this month, a public notice issued by the FCC stated that the agency found no “special circumstances” warranting further investigation into the deal.

The deal will see SoftBank acquire more than $100 billion in assets, including data center brands such as Switch, AtlasEdge, and Yondr Group.

This also includes the acquisition of WOW!, after DigitalBridge and Crestview Partners snapped up the rural ISP for $1.5bn last year, with the deal wrapped up in December.

Founded in 1996, WOW! provides broadband to nearly 2 million residential, business, and wholesale consumers. The company has around 465,000 broadband customers.

The company offers services in 20 markets, primarily in the Midwest and Southeast, including Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, including the new all-fiber networks in Central Florida; Hernando County, Florida; and Greenville County, South Carolina.

In the FCC's approval, SoftBank isn't mentioned by name, however, as noted by Broadband Breakfast, Duncan Holdco LLC, a private holding company of SoftBank, is named.