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Zayo to acquire AboveNet for $2.2bn
20 March 2012
US fibre infrastructure operators agree to merge with Zayo buying AboveNet for $2.2bn in private equity funded deal
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US fibre infrastructure operation Zayo is to take over rival company AboveNet in an agreed cash deal. Zayo will pay $84 in cash for every share of AboveNet common stock, valuing the company at about $2.2 billion.
Bill LaPerch, president and CEO of AboveNet said: “Over the last 5 years Zayo has acquired a very impressive set of fibre infrastructure assets. The combination creates a dense fibre footprint throughout North America and Europe for a bandwidth hungry world.”
US-based private equity firm GTCR is to make an equity investment in Zayo as part of the deal. Charlesbank Capital Partners, already a Zayo investor, will make further investment in the company. Phil Canfield, principal at GTCR, said that his firm has been “looking for opportunities to make investments in the bandwidth infrastructure space” and that the combined entity offers “an excellent opportunity for our firm”.
However AboveNet has to right to seek alternative deals until April 17 2012, with a possible extension to May 2. GTB
Further reading from Global Telecoms Business:
Zayo to buy 360networks 11 Oct 2011
Rival exchanges set up for carrier ethernet 12 Dec 2010
Traffic growth and price cuts fuel demand for fibre connections 28 Aug 2008