Altice USA stock continued to rise on Friday, albeit at a much slower pace than the day before, as investors started to realize that if a sale of its Suddenlink unit were to happen, it would likely be at a more reasonable price than the $20 billion that had been previously speculated.

Altice USA shares spiked as high as $13.17 each on Thursday, up 43%, after Bloomberg News said the company had engaged investment banker Goldman Sachs to look for potential buyers of its Suddenlink systems in the Midwest, South and West. According to the Bloomberg report, buyers could pay as much as $20 billion for the unit. The stock closed at $11.24 each, up 22.5% on July 21 and rose another 2% in Friday afternoon trading.

A $20 billion price tag would imply the deal could be done at a 14 times multiple of cash flow -- the prevailing metric for cable deals -- or about twice that of earlier deals. Suddenlink has about 1.8 million subscribers and passes about 3.9 million homes, which would make it the fifth largest cable operator in the country on a standalone basis. 

In a research note, MoffettNathanson senior analyst Craig Moffett wrote that while a Suddenlink sale would seem to contradict Altice USA’s previous direction -- it has pumped billions of dollars into building out its fiber network and has said Suddenlink was its clearest growth engine -- a deal could be done. Moffett noted that there has been substantial interest in cable assets from private equity funds recently -- Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, TPG  and Macquarie Capital all have done recent deals -- as well as from smaller strategic players. But paying twice the prevailing rate for cable operations that will still need to be upgraded may be a tough row for Altice USA to hoe. 

Moffett also questioned Bloomberg's $1.3 billion cash flow estimate for Suddenlink, adding that was the company's trailing 12-month EBITDA in 2018. It likely has risen since then -- and if it hasn't Suddenlink has more serious problems -- and Moffett predicted that today it is more likely in the $1.6 billion range. That would value a $20 billion deal at about 12.5 times cash flow, still high, but more palatable to a potential suitor.    

As far as potential buyers Moffett wrote that the two largest operators -- Comcast and Charter Communications -- have held back on system purchases because of regulatory concerns. That leaves Cable One as the most likely strategic player interested in Suddenlink, because it is around the same size. 

But he added that Cable One would likely have to issue equity in a deal, and Altice USA probably has little interest in owning another cable stock. While Cable One has issued shares to the public and used the proceeds for deals in the past, the size of a Suddenlink deal would make that infeasible. 

“To be sure, none of this means that Cable One couldn’t be a potential buyer. It is simply to say that it wouldn’t be easy,” Moffett wrote.

That leaves private equity players. And though there haven’t been any significant PE cable deals this year, meaning the desire to pay high prices for assets may have waned, Moffett noted that there should be both significant amounts of capital available and a high degree of interest in Suddenlink. 

“In short, then, while we don’t expect the two largest cable operators to be active buyers, we nevertheless believe that Altice could mount a robust auction process, and that they could likely be able to attract a fair price,” Moffett wrote. “It’s just not likely to be a price comparable to what they might have gotten nine to twelve months ago.” ■ 

Shares in WideOpenWest were up as much as 17% in early trading Monday after reports surfaced that the company was in talks with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners to be acquired.

WOW stock was priced as high as $21.69 per share (up 17% or $3.20 each) in early trading May 13. The stock was trading at $20.85 each before mid-day, up 13% or $2.36 each. This is the second time in about a month that WOW shares have risen in the double-digits — in April, the stock rose 12% after speculation arose that it had hired advisers to seek a possible buyer. 

According to Bloomberg News, citing unnamed sources, WOW and Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, the private-equity infrastructure investment arm of the investment banker, have entered into exclusive talks. The Morgan Stanley unit is not a total stranger to the U.S. telecom business — in 2020 it purchased a 49.99% interest in Altice USA’s Lightpath fiber enterprise business in a deal with an implied enterprise value of about $3.2 billion. 

Officials at WOW declined comment. Representatives from Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

WOW is coming off the sale of five of its markets for a combined $1.786 billion to Astound Broadband and Breezeline (formerly Atlantic Broadband) and recently unveiled plans to beef up fiber network deployment and launch a wireless offering. Earlier this month the company said it would spend about $400 million on greenfield expansion of its fiber network through 2027.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss its Q1 results on May 9, WOW said it would launch its mobile service — via a partnership with Reach Mobile — in one of its southern markets later this month, followed by an enterprise-wide launch in Q3. ■

ImOn Communications, a fiber-to-the-premises telecom services provider based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,  said Thursday that it has agreed to be purchased by a unit within Goldman Sachs Assets Management, a deal that it says will help fund its expansion into surrounding areas. Terms were not disclosed.

ImOn was founded in 2007 as a single-market cable provider and today owns and operates a 2,000-mile FTTP platform that reaches more than 60,000 homes and businesses, providing advanced broadband services, digital TV, high-speed Internet, and phone services to customers in Cedar Rapids, Marion, Hiawatha, Iowa City, and Dubuque, Iowa.  

“The ImOn team is thrilled to be working with Goldman Sachs,” ImOn founder and CEO Patrice Carroll said in a press release. “Goldman Sachs shares our values and supports ImOn’s vision. They will be a great partner to help us implement our ambitious growth plans.”

Goldman Sachs Asset Management has long been a supporter of infrastructure companies, with past investments in CityFibre, UK’s largest independent Full Fiber infrastructure platform, and Global Compute, a global data center platform.

"Increasing usage and reliance on broadband connectivity by households and businesses create a highly attractive growth opportunity for ImOn to deploy FTTP infrastructure,” Leonard Seevers, a Partner leading digital infrastructure investing within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said in a press release. “We are incredibly excited to partner with Patrice and the rest of the ImOn management team, and to be ImOn’s strategic and capital partner as it executes this next phase of growth.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022 and is subject to obtaining customary regulatory approvals. 

ImOn was advised by Bank Street Group, Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, and Morgan Lewis & Bockius. Goldman Sachs Asset Management was advised by TD Securities and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. TD Securities also served as Lead Arranger on the debt financing for the transaction.

Cable One said it has purchased Cable America Missouri, a small broadband and cable operator with about 14,000 customers in rural areas in the central part of the state, for about $113 million in cash.

Cable One revealed the debt-free purchase in its 10-Q quarterly financial statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission filed on Nov. 5.

On a conference call with analysts to discuss its Q3 results on Nov. 5, Cable One CEO Julie Laulis said the Cable America properties are close to markets the company purchased in 2019 with its buy of Fidelity Communications.  

“Due to its adjacency to our Fidelity markets as well as alignment with culture, growth and competitive profile, we expect Cable America to be an excellent fit to our growing family of brands,” Laulis said on the call. “The transaction is expected to be financed with cash on hand and close prior to year-end.” 

The Cable America deal comes shortly after Cable One said it would form a fiber joint venture with Clearwave Communications and Hargray Communications.  

Astound Broadband said it has completed the purchase of systems in Illinois, Indiana and Maryland from WideOpenWest for $661 million.

Astound first unveiled the deal in June. The acquired systems in Chicago; Evansville, Indiana; and Anne Arundel, Maryland, will add about 128,000 residential and business customers to Astound’s total footprint while passing more than 700,000 homes. 

Also read: WOW Closes Sale of Ohio Systems to Atlantic Broadband for $1.125 Billion 

“Astound Broadband’s acquisition of WOW!’s Illinois, Indiana, and Maryland markets significantly advances our footprint in areas largely adjacent to the company’s existing operations,” Astound CEO Jim Holanda said in a press release.  “This expansion enables us to leverage incumbent fiber-rich network assets, nearby operations talent, award winning customer service, and a strong product set to serve even more customers. We’re excited to officially welcome WOW! customers and colleagues to Astound.”

Also read: WOW Deal Will Double RCNs Chicago Footprint, CEO Says 

Both companies have been working for months to transition employees and customers to Astound and added that in the short term the acquired markets will continue to operate without interruption under the WOW! name and trademark and will be rebranded following the integration period.

“With Astound Broadband, WOW! has found a good steward for our operations in Chicago, Evansville and Ann Arundel,” WOW CEO Teresa Elder said in a press release. “The team at Astound shares the same employee and customer-centric culture and values and has the resources and commitment to provide the same quality of service our customers have come to expect from WOW!.”

JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are acting as financial advisers to Astound and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as legal advisor. Kelley Drye & Warren LLP is acting as regulatory adviser, with Deloitte & Touche LLP serving as tax and accounting adviser.

Cox Communications said it has completed its purchase of the commercial services segment of Charlotte, North Carolina-based fiber infrastructure provider Segra. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but some published reports estimated it was worth about $3 billion. 

Segra serves commercial enterprise and carrier customers in nine states in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the country. Cox first announced the deal in April. 

Although Cox did not disclose the price, the company said the deal was one of the largest in its history and supports an ongoing focus on strategic infrastructure investments and continued commitment to the business services market. Bloomberg said back in April that it could be worth more than $3 billion, including assumed debt. 

“Cox has invested more than $15 billion in its communities through infrastructure upgrades in the last decade and acquiring Segra's commercial services business underscores our commitment to continue to make big bets in the business services space,” said Cox incoming president Mark Greatrex in a press release. “An expanded geographical presence, greater network capacity and more services will be an immediate benefit for customers of both companies and will better enable us to meet the significant demand for our solutions.”

Segra's existing management team will continue to lead the Segra enterprise and carrier organization following the acquisition, will retain the Segra brand and operate as a standalone business within the Cox family of companies.

“Segra’s primary focus will continue to be on serving our customers,” Segra CEO  Timothy Biltz said in a press release. “Our dedicated team of employees is our most important resource. Through them, we deliver a superior customer experience and demonstrate the value of our state-of-the-art fiber infrastructure. We’ll continue to invest in our employees and our world-class network in order to exceed our customer’s expectations. Joining Cox strengthens our ability to meet the growing demand for our products and services, which are mission critical to our customers. The Segra and Cox teams have been working diligently together to plan for a successful day one and beyond.”

Liberty Global said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its UPC Poland operation to mobile operator Play for $1.8 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2022.

Play is part of the iliad Group, which also operates mobile networks in France (under the Free trade name) and Italy (under the iliad name), and has about 15 million subscribers in Poland. Iliad S.A. is the parent of iliad Group. SAa. the mobile subsidiary of Polish telecom company Iliad S.A.  

UPC Poland has about 1.5 million subscribers and passes 3.7 million homes in the country. Liberty said the sale price represents about 9 times UPC Poland’s 2021 estimated adjusted EBITDA.  

“This transaction highlights, yet again, the significant value of fiber-rich HFC networks in Europe, as well as the substantial synergy benefits inherent in fixed-mobile convergence mergers,” Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries said in a press release. “We have been operating in Poland for over 20 years and are proud of our contributions to the country’s growing digital economy and the impact that we’ve made in the communities where we operate.”

Liberty Global said the cash proceeds from the deal — about $600 million — will boost its already hefty cash balance of $4.1 billion.

“As ever, we remain squarely focused on value creation and are pleased with the premium valuation we received for our Polish business, providing a strong return for Liberty Global shareholders,” Fries continued.

Proceeds from the sale, net debt repayment, will be used for general corporate purposes, including reinvestment into its business and for share repurchases. Liberty Global also has agreed to provide Play with certain transitional services — mainly network and information technology functions — for a period of up to four years.

Credit Suisse acted as financial advisor to Liberty Global for the transaction.

Privately-held Schurz Communications said it has purchased Ohio-based New Knoxville Telephone Co. (NK Telco), a fiber provider that operates in the west central portion of that state. 

The deal will mark Schurz’s sixth broadband purchase in about 10 years, beginning with its 2012 purchase of Orbitel Communications. 

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter. 

“Schurz remains dedicated to connecting communities through access to information and empowering engagement, and we are proud to bring NK Telco into our portfolio,” Schurz CEO Todd Schurz said in a press release. “We have deep experience with broadband businesses and look forward to supporting NK Telco’s growth and expansion in Ohio. The company aligns with our ongoing mission of uniting people through communications services.”

NKTelco has been in business since 1905 and offers data, voice and video services to residential and business customers in communities located throughout West Central Ohio, including New Knoxville, New Bremen, Minster, Fort Loramie, Botkins, Anna, Maria Stein, Chickasaw, Osgood, Russia, Jackson Center, Sidney, Piqua and Versailles. Its current management team will continue to lead the business under the NKTelco brand.

“Schurz has a long history of supporting broadband companies and we are fortunate to be part of its family of businesses,” NK Telco general manager Preston Meyer, said in a press release. “With this support, NK Telco will be able to accelerate plans of expanding its regional fiber network. In addition, we plan to announce Gigabit speeds and more cloud based offerings while continuing to deliver our superior customer service. We appreciate the expanded opportunities that being part of the Schurz family brings for our employees. Ultimately our partnership supports our investment in our local communities and increases our ability to pursue growth and expansion opportunities.”

Also as part of the transaction, Schurz will become owners of NK Telco’s 4.5% investment in Com Net, an Ohio-based communications company, which will enable greater connectivity throughout the state.

Stifel served as financial advisor and FGKS Law served as legal advisor to NK Telco. Barnes & Thornburg served as legal advisor to Schurz.

Grande Communications, a division of Astound Broadband, said Tuesday that it has purchased Harris Broadband, provider of internet, voice and television services to about 6,000 customers in Central Texas.

The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, will fill out Grande’s Texas footprint, which includes Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, San Marcos, Corpus Christi, Waco, Temple, Houston and Midland/Odessa. In addition to about 6,000 customers in Brownwood and Early, Texas, , the deal will add 12,500 homes-passed and 150 miles of fiber plant to Grande’s operations in the state. The deal is expected to close later this year.

“We expect to combine Harris Broadband’s localized expertise and leadership with our broader network and resources to provide more services to more customers throughout Central Texas and beyond,” Astound Broadband and Grande Communications CEO Jim Holanda said in a press release. “We will leverage best practices from our family of companies to build upon Harris’s long track record of success in providing advanced broadband services.”

The deal comes weeks after Astound agreed to buy systems in Anne Arundel, Maryland; Chicago and Evansville, Indiana systems from overbuilder WideOpenWest for $661 million. 

Also Read: WOW Deal Will Double RCN’s Chicago Footprint, Astound CEO Says 

“We’re excited to become a part of the Grande Communications family,” said Harris Broadband president Philip Harris in a press release. “This transaction provides us with access to nationally recognized technical expertise, highly regarded operational management systems and processes, and unparalleled financial acumen to further the expansion of Harris Broadband. Moreover, this transaction is great for not only customers we currently serve, but surrounding communities in and around Brownwood and Early.”

Houlihan Lokey served as Harris’s financial advisor on the sale process. Seyfarth Shaw LP served as Grande’s legal adviser on the deal.  

Shortly after agreeing to purchase three WideOpenWest properties in the Midwest for about $661 million, Astound Broadband CEO Jim Holanda said the deal will double his company’s potential presence in the Chicago area, adding key neighborhoods in the city’s south side and western and northwestern suburbs, while growing its footprint in Washington, D.C by about one-third. 

Astound was one of two companies that agreed to buy five properties from WOW for a combined $1.786 billion. Atlantic Broadband agreed to purchase WOW’s Cleveland and Columbus Ohio systems, with about 196,000 customers, for $1.125  billion. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.

For Astound, the WOW deal is its first substantial purchase since agreeing to be bought by private equity company Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners for $8.1 billion. That deal, first unveiled in November 2020, is set to close shortly. In an interview, Holanda said the final government approval -- of the 259 that were required -- is expected from the California PUC in about four-to-six weeks.

“We’re looking forward to getting that last one done,” he said.  

Astound includes RCN, Grande Communications, enTouch Communications and Wave Broadband, and is the sixth largest cable company in the country, operating in eight states and Washington, DC. The WOW deal involves about 128,000 residential and business customers and passes a collective 700,000 homes. Also as part of the deal, Astound agreed to purchase WOW’s Evansville, Indiana operations, with which it has no adjacent systems. 

Also Read: Executive of the Year: True Patriot 

But it appears that the deal will have its biggest impact in Chicago. RCN has been offering service in Chicago since 1999, primarily in what is known as Area One (downtown, the north side along Lake Michigan and extending to the northern and northwestern suburbs). The Anne Arundel purchase will boost Astound’s presence in Washington D.C., where it has been operating since 1996, by about one-third. 

“Dating back maybe seven or eight years, we’ve had conversations with WOW’s management team about Chicago because we knew it would be a good fit,” Holanda said. “For whatever reasons they decided to formally put the process in place to explore potential sale opportunities for certain assets. Clearly the Chicago and Maryland cluster they put on the market was designed for our interest given the close proximity to our existing operations and networks. We’re very happy it all came to fruition over the past few weeks and months.” 

Holanda said the WOW systems are in good shape -- they are DOCSIS 3.1 compliant as are the rest of Astound’s properties -- and won’t require too much upgrade investment. While the penetration rates in those areas are lower than in some other WOW markets, the Astound chief sees it as a growth opportunity. 

“We think there is runway to continue to grow and take share over time,” Holanda said, adding that with the purchase Astound will pass about 800,000 homes in the market. In Washington D.C., the deal expands the footprint to 400,000 homes passed. 

In Chicago, Astound competes against Comcast and AT&T, and in Washington D.C., it goes up against Comcast and Verizon’s Fios. Holanda said the added bulk will give it an added advantage in what has already been a healthy competitive relationship. 

“I like to think we have been a strong competitor in both of those markets, certainly in the 11 years we’ve been operating RCN, and I would expect to continue to be a strong competitor against them in these two markets as we go forward,” Holanda said. “Competing against Comcast and Verizon and AT&T on a regular basis for the past decade, I think we’re always aggressive in trying to sign up customers onto our broadband platform. We’ll continue to do that with the WOW markets once we take ownership."

Astound has been an aggressive participant in the deal market. It was created after TPG bought RCN and Grande Communications in 2016 for $2.25 billion,  and the private equity player later added Wave Broadband in 2018 for $2.36 billion and enTouch Communications in September 2020. Under Stonepeak’s tutelage, Astound closed its purchase of small California fiber company Digital West about a month ago.  

Holanda said that the WOW purchase is no harbinger of a buying binge anytime soon, adding that the company regularly looks at deals as well as organic growth opportunities. 

“Clearly with a new long-term infrastructure equity investor like Stonepeak, being able to do accretive M&A has always been something that we have done,” Holanda said.  “And whether that was with ABRY our original owner, whether it’s been with TPG when we bought Wave [Broadband] and enTouch and now with Stonepeak going after WOW, we’re continuously looking at those opportunities that are on the market and try to create opportunities where we  have contiguous cable properties, that are of interest to us. I think we will obviously continue to do that with Stonepeak. But we are also pretty disciplined when it comes to M&A and we need to make sure that it's going to be accretive and operationally we can take on that challenge on behalf of customers.” 

Other operators have been looking at smaller deals as consolidation has limited the number of players available. In the past 12months, Altice USA, which gave up on its $8.1 billion attempt (with Rogers Communications) to take over Atlantic Broadband parent Cogeco Communications in November, has closed deals for tiny Service Electric Cable TV. of New Jersey for $150 million and North Carolina broadband provider Morris Broadband for about $310 million. 

Holanda added there appears to be more smaller operators willing to do deals than in the past.

“At any given time we have a handful of opportunities that we are evaluating,” Holanda said. “That’s been pretty consistent over the last couple of years. If you think about how cable valuations have expanded over these last four or five years, I do see smaller deals like enTouch and Digital West -- just a couple of thousand homes outside of our Seattle market. We’ll continue to look for tuck-in acquisitions that are contiguous to our existing operations and we think we can provide a long-term investment platform to upgrade and/or integrate into our ecosystem.”

WideOpenWest said Wednesday it has agreed to sell systems in five markets in two separate transactions to Astound Broadband and Atlantic Broadband for a combined $1.786 billion, using the proceeds of the sale to pay down debt and fund network expansion.

WOW will sell its Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio systems to Atlantic Broadband in a deal valued at $1.125 billion. Astound will receive WOW’s Anne Arundel, Maryland; Chicago and Evansville, Indiana systems for $661 million. 

News of the deals, expected to close in the second half of 2021, sent WOW stock up 17% ($3.09 each) to $21.34 in early trading Wednesday (June 30)

Atlantic Broadband is part of Canadian telecom and cable operator Cogeco Communications. Last year it was the target of a hostile takeover bid from Altice USA, which with Canadian telecom giant Rogers Communications bid more than $8 billion for Cogeco assets. Cogeco, controlled by the Audet family trust, rejected those bids. 

Astound broadband was created last year after private equity firm TPG sold its stakes in RCN, Grande Communications and Wave Broadband to Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners for $8.1 billion. 

Also Read: Executive of the Year: True Patriot 

News of the deal comes about two weeks after WOW chief financial officer John Rego said at an industry conference that the company could sell off portions of its systems if it wanted to deleverage faster. 

“If we wanted to think about deleveraging quicker [and] faster, we could think about selling a market or two of the 19 that we have,” Rego said at the Credit Suisse Virtual Communications conference on June 15. “We’ve done this before. We’ve bought them and we’ve sold them.”

Also Read: Analyst: Astound Sale points to Strong Cable Valuations 

At the time, Rego noted that deal multiples were rising, pointing to Astound's sale to Stonepeak and CableOne’s purchase of Hargray Communications, transactions that he sad were valued at around 12.5 times cash flow. According to WOW, its Atlantic Broadband and Astound deals are valued at about 11 times cash flow.  

WOW said it would use the proceeds of the sale to pare down debt -- it estimates that its leverage ratio will fall from its current 5 times cash flow to 2.5 times after the deal closes. In addition, it will use some for the money to continue its ongoing edge-out program to expand its network in its service territory. 

"We are pleased to reach these two agreements as WOW! takes a significant step toward accelerating our broadband-first growth strategy at a pivotal time in our industry," WOW CEO Teresa Elder said in a press release. "The substantial proceeds from these transactions reflect the attractiveness of our assets and the clear opportunity to expand our position as a trusted provider of reliable, accessible and fast broadband solutions. The divestiture of these markets will enable us to reduce our debt as we continue to execute our broadband-first strategy, including pursuing our Edge-out and greenfield strategies and expanding our commercial services."

WOW will continue to operate in 14 service areas in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina, and Tennessee.  On a pro forma basis as of March 31, the company would have had about 532,000 total subscribers, and 506,000 high-speed data revenue generating units. 

The company said it “anticipates some employees from each of the sold markets will remain with WOW, some may be integrated into Atlantic Broadband and Astound Broadband, and others may leave the business.”

BofA Securities is acting as financial advisor to WOW, and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as well as Honigman LLP are serving as legal counsel.

Cable One said it has completed the purchase of the remaining 85% interest in Hargray Communications it didn’t already own, adding about 14 communities in four Southern states to its portfolio.

Cable One agreed to the deal, valued at about $2.2 billion, in February. The transaction built on an earlier deal where Cable One swapped its system in Anniston, Alabama for a 15% stake in the cable and telecom operator. 

According to Cable One, Hargray has about 125,000 residential and business customers in 14 markets across Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina and offers 1-Gigabit-per-second-capable services to about 99% of its customer base, In keeping with Cable One’s focus on broadband, the company said that about 60% of Hargray’s total revenues for the 12-month period ended Dec. 31 were derived from residential data and business services customers.

“We look forward to expanding our footprint into high-quality markets in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, as well as reentering the Alabama market,” Cable One CEO Julie Laulis said in a press release. “The Hargray team has built a reputation of providing superior service and customer support to residential and business customers in these areas and we are excited to further build upon that legacy. I am thrilled to welcome our new Hargray associates to Cable One as we work together toward our shared focus of connecting customers and communities to what matters most.”

The deal is the sixth purchase for Cable One since 2017, when it bought NewWave Communications for $735 million. 

“It has been my privilege to serve as CEO of Hargray for the last 14 years as we have pursued our purpose of empowering people and communities to connect and thrive,” Hargray chairman and CEO Michael Gottdenker in a press release. “I am confident that under Cable One’s ownership we will continue to pursue this purpose for our colleagues, customers and the communities we serve.”

Altice USA said it has completed its purchase of Morris Broadband, a high-speed data, video and voice services provider based in North Carolina, in a deal that implies a $310 million enterprise value.

Morris has about 36,500 residential and business subscribers in western North Carolina. With the deal, North Carolina becomes the sixth largest state for Altice USA in terms of customers. Altice USA first announced the transaction in March. 

“We are thrilled to welcome the very fast-growing Morris Broadband business and look forward to providing our Optimum-branded broadband, video, voice and news offerings to tens of thousands of additional customers,” Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei said in a press release. “As a company, we take great pride in contributing to the communities where our employees and customers live and work and, as we expand our presence in North Carolina, we will invest in the technology and infrastructure needed to ensure customers have the reliable connectivity services they need to live their lives connected.”

Also Read: Altice USA Chief Says M&A 'Definitely’ on the Agenda

Altice USA said it will communicate with Morris Broadband customers directly about how to manage their accounts as the two companies integrate operations and launch Optimum services. Altice USA encouraged Morris Broadband customers to review the Optimum suite of products, including Internet services up to 1 Gigabit per second, by visiting optimum.com/morris.

Cable One has agreed to buy the remaining 85% interest in Hargray Communications it didn’t already own in a transaction that values the company at about $2.2 billion.  

Cable One, based in Phoenix, swapped its Anniston, Alabama, system to Hargray for a 15% interest in the company in October. With the most recent deal, Cable One will own 100% of Hargray, contributing a mix of cash, equity and debt financing for the remaining 85%. The deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter. 

Publicly traded Cable One said the deal will give it an expanded presence in the Southeastern market — Hargray operates in 14 locations across Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina — and allows it to tap into Hargray’s fiber expertise. 

“This transaction will also serve as a potential platform for future organic and inorganic growth in the region as we look to continue to expand our footprint,” Cable One CEO Julie Laulis said in a press release. Cable One said Hargray generated about $128 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA, a measure of cash flow) on an annualized basis in Q4 and it expects to realize about $45 million in annual run-rate synergies within three years of the close of the deal. 

The purchase price represents a robust multiple of about 17.2 times Hargrave’s annualized EBITDA, and 12.7 times cash flow assuming the synergies are realized immediately. Recent deals, like TPG’s sale of Astound Broadband to Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, were valued in the 14 times range. 

Cable One will fund the purchase with a combination of cash, debt and issuing new equity. The company said it has received a $900 million bridge loan from J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse to finance a portion of the deal. 

Cable One has been an aggressive buyer of properties over the past few years. In October, it said it would buy a 45% interest in Mega Broadband Investments, parent of Vyve Broadband, for about $547.1 million. The most recent deal would be its sixth transaction since 2017, when it purchased New Wave Communications for $725 million

Just four months after finalizing a deal to take a minority equity stake in cable operator Hargray Communications, Cable One said it will buy the remaining interest in the company in a transaction that values the operator at $2.2 billion. 

In October, Cable One closed a deal where it swapped its systems in Anniston, Alabama for a 15% equity stake in Hargray. The most recent deal, a mix of cash, equity and debt financing, is expected to be completed by the second quarter. In a press release, Cable One said the deal will give it an expanded presence in the Southeastern market -- Hargray operates in 14 locations across Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina -- and allows it to tap into Hargray’s fiber expertise.  

“We look forward to further partnering with Hargray to extend our presence in the Southeast through Hargray’s fast-growing markets, like-minded strategy, and commitment to providing fast and reliable internet service to rural markets,” Cable One CEO Julie Laulis said in a press release. “This transaction will also serve as a potential platform for future organic and inorganic growth in the region as we look to continue to expand our footprint.”

According to Cable One, Hargray generated about $128 million in annualized Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA, a measure of cash flow) on an annualized basis for the quarter ended Dec. 31. Cable One said it expects to realize about $45 million in annual run-rate synergies within three years of the close of the deal. 

Cable One has been an aggressive buyer of properties over the past few years. In October it said it would buy Mega Broadband Investments, parent of Vyve Broadband, for about $547.1 million.  The most recent deal would be its sixth transaction since 2017, when it purchased New Wave Communications for $735 million.  

Related: Cable One to Launch IPTV Offering

“Cable One and Hargray have remarkably similar cultures, starting with each company’s focus on delighting its customers," said Hargray chairman and CEO Michael Gottdenker in a press release. "Having led Hargray for nearly 14 years, and having gotten to know Cable One well over the past few years, I am excited about this transaction and am confident that our colleagues, customers, and communities will continue to thrive under Cable One’s ownership.”

Hargray is owned by the Pritzker Organization, the merchant bank for the Tom Pritzker family. Tom Pritzker is also executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp. Other investors in Hargray include Stephens Capital Partners, Redwood Capital Investments, WaveDivision Capital, and management.

The purchase price represents a multiple of about 17.2 times Hargrave’s annualized EBITDA, and 12.7 times cash flow assuming the synergies are realized immediately. 

Cable One said it plans to finance the transaction with a combination of cash, its revolving credit facility and the issuance of new equity. The company said it has received a $900 million bridge loan from J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse to finance a portion of the deal. 

Cable One intends to finance the transaction with a combination of existing cash resources, revolving credit facility capacity, and proceeds from new indebtedness and/or equity capital. Cable One has received $900 million of definitive bridge loan commitments from J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse to finance a portion of the purchase price.

Credit Suisse acted as lead financial advisor to Cable One, and J.P. Morgan also acted as financial advisor to Cable One. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP acted as legal advisor to Cable One on this transaction.

TDS Metrocom, a subsidiary of TDS Telecom, said it has completed its purchase of Merrimac Communcations.in Merrimac, Wis., and will immediately begin working to transition customers and planning improvements to the network which passes more than 6,000 homes.

“We look forward to serving the customers of Merrimac Communications and transitioning them to TDS’ state-of-the-art solutions,” TDS CEO Jim Butman said in a statement. “As we invest in the network, customers will begin enjoying some of the fastest, most reliable communications services in the state. This, in turn, will help accelerate growth and economic development throughout the region.”

TDS announced the Merrimac deal in November. Terms were not disclosed. Merrimac provides cable TV, internet, and phone service to residents and businesses in parts of Sauk, Columbia, and Dane counties, including th e towns of Merrimac, Caledonia, Sumpter, Prairie du Sac, Roxbury, Mazomanie, Greenfield, and West Point and the villages of Sauk City, Prairie du Sac, and Merrimac. TDS’ plans include launching TDS TV service and further building out the fiber optic network to serve more area residents.

TDS has been active in the deal market, purchasing Sun Prairie Utilities’ fiber network in May and cable networks from Crestview Cable Communications in Central Oregon in November and K2 Communications in Mead, Colo., in September.

The Pat Thompson Co. assisted Merrimac Communications with this transaction.

WideOpenWest has agreed to purchase metro Atlanta area cable operator NuLink from New York private equity firm Halyard Capital. 

NuLink offers service to about 34,000 homes in Newnan, Ga., about 34 miles southwest of Atlanta. In a Securities and Exchange Commisson filing Tuesday, WOW revealed that the purchase price is about $53 million and that NuLink reported cash flow of about $8.4 million in 2015. 

“NuLink’s long-standing commitment to the Newnan community is why this is a great acquisition for WOW!,” said WOW CEO Steven Cochran in a statement. “We plan to continue investing in the local network infrastructure to bring even faster Internet to residential and business customers with speeds as high as 1 Gbps. All of us at WOW! are committed to providing an outstanding customer experience and we look forward to serving the community.”

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The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2016.

“We are excited to become a part of the WOW! family. Since our start in 1997, we have continued to invest in the NuLink system and joining WOW! is the right next step for the Newnan community,” said NuLink CEO Dan Shoemaker in a statement.

NuLink was spun off from Newnan utilities in 2008 and upgraded its network in 2011 to provide a full suite of Internet, cable TV and phone services.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal advisor to WOW!, while Waller Capital Partners LLC, Garrett M. Baker Advisors LLC and Locke Lord LLP acted as financial and legal advisors respectively to NuLink.