Lumos Networks, a fibre-based service provider in the Mid-Atlantic region, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by the EQT Infrastructure investment strategy for $18.00 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $950 million.
Under the terms of the agreement, EQT Infrastructure will acquire all of Lumos Networks’ common stock for $18.00 per share, representing a premium of 18.2% to the Lumos Networks closing price of $15.23 on February 17, 2017. The offer price also represents a 34.9% premium to the volume-weighted price average over the last 12 months of $13.35 and a 16.5% premium to $15.45, the average closing price for the past 20 trading days.
Lumos Networks serves carrier, enterprise and data centre customers, offering end-to-end connectivity in 24 markets in Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and Kentucky. It has a fibre network of 9,204 fibre route miles and 475,507 total fibre strand miles that connects 1,297 fibre-to-the-cell sites, 1,642 FTTC connections, 36 data centres, including 7 company owned colocation facilities, 1,984 on-net buildings and around 3,300 on-net locations.
Recently, Lumos announced it had acquired Charlotte, North Carolina based DC74 Data Centers for $23.5 to $28.5 million, depending on future growth earn-out projections. It also recently announced closing of its acquisition of Clarity Communications, with a 730 mile fibre network with 75 on-net locations, mainly in North Carolina.
EQT stated that the transaction has been approved by all voting members of the board of directors. Completion of the transaction, subject to shareholder approval, regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions,
is expected during the third quarter of 2017.
EQT, based in Sweden, is an alternative investments firm with approximately Euro 31 billion in raised capital in 21 funds with portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the U.S. Portfolio companies include Norwegian broadband provider Broadnet, IP-Only, a provider of data communications and data centre services in Sweden, subsea telecom infrastructure provider IslaLink.
