Staff photo by Daniel WattenburgerJoseph Franell is the CEO of Eastern Oregon Telecom, which provides fiber Internet in Hermiston.

Umatilla Electric Cooperative announced Thursday that it has sold its subsidiary internet and phone provider, Eastern Oregon Telecom, to EOT company executives.

Joe Franell, EOT general manager and CEO, said the sale had been discussed for about four years, and that three executive officers would share equal ownership of the company. The three officers are Franell, Chief Financial Officer Paul Keeler and Chief Operating Officer Richard Holbo.

A press release from UEC stated that the EOT executive team did business under the name Columbia Basin Development Group.

Franell said he could not discuss the terms of the sale, but said he hopes that it will eventually allow for all employees to have a stake in the company.

“Step one was to get ownership of the company,” he said. “Our corporate attorney is looking at options for us.”

The most formal option, he said, would be to form an “Employee Stock Option Program,” or ESOP. Employee-owned companies such as Bi-Mart use this structure, he said. Other possibilities include allowing employees to purchase stock options, or profit-sharing, which Franell said is not true ownership.

He said they have no set timeline for when employees will be able to have a stake in the company’s ownership. He said when they do provide that option, the three current owners intend to remain equal partners.

Franell said the goal with taking over ownership of the company was to serve other areas not currently in the UEC footprint.

“Our intent is to look at opportunities to grow the business,” he said.

Without naming specific locations, he said they are considering areas in adjacent counties on both sides of the river.

“Anything east of the Cascades in Oregon and in Washington is fair game,” he said.

He said they will likely see employee growth with that expansion.

Eastern Oregon Telecom currently has about 3,500 customers, and covers area from Tower Road, west of Boardman, to Pendleton. They also provide service to some areas in Washington.

They have been in a new building, on 2180 SE Kelli Blvd., Hermiston, for a month, and have an open house on June 14.

EOT was formed in 1999, and was initially owned by UEC, Douglas Electric Cooperative, four telephone cooperatives and a telecommunications consulting firm. Initially offering telephone services, EOT expanded to high-speed internet in 2003.