Lumen Technologies (formerly CenturyLink) agreed to sell its ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) business, including its consumer, small business, wholesale and mostly copper-served enterprise customers and assets, in 20 states to funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management for $7.5 billion, including debt assumption of approximately $1.4 billion.
Lumen will retain its ILEC assets in 16 states, as well as its national fiber routes and CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) networks.
Assets in the 20 states being acquired include:
- Local fiber and copper network
- Broadband and voice for consumer, enterprise and wholesale customers
- Fiber and copper connectivity to enabled buildings
- Connectivity to tower sites
- Central offices
"This transaction is an important step in our continued efforts to transform Lumen and drive future growth for our company," said Jeff Storey, Lumen president and CEO. "We are pleased with the attractive valuation we received for these assets, which highlights the overall value of Lumen's extensive asset portfolio. Apollo Funds will receive a great business with a strong customer base, dedicated employees, and a platform for future growth."
"The team at Lumen has built a great business and we see an incredible opportunity to provide leading edge, fiber-to-the-home broadband technology to millions of its business and residential customers," said Aaron Sobel, Private Equity Partner at Apollo. "Our investment will help accelerate the upgrade to fiber optic technologies, and we are excited to have such a high-caliber management team ready to bring faster and more reliable internet service to many rural markets traditionally underserved by broadband providers."
https://news.lumen.com/
CenturyLink is now Lumen
- On July 25, 2021, Lumen reached a definitive agreement to sell its Latin American business to Stonepeak for $2.7 billion
- In 2017, CenturyLink acquired Level 3 Communications in a deal valued at over $34 billion. Previously, CenturyLink has acquired Qwest Communications, Savvis and Embarq (formerly Sprint's Local Telecommunications Division).
- In 2014, Level 3 acquired tw telecom in a $5.7 billion deal that combined its global fiber network and international data centers with tw telecom's extensive metro footprint in major U.S. Time Warner Communications was founded in 1993 as a joint venture between US West and Time Warner Communications. The company completed an IPO in 1999. It acquired Xspedius in 2006.
- Level 3's prior acquisitions include WilTel (2005), Progress Telecom (2006), ICG(2006), Telcove (2006), Looking Glass Networks (2006), Broadwing (2007), SAVVIS' content delivery network (2007), Servecast (2007), and Global Crossing (2011).
