CEQUEL Strikes Again
By Mike Farrell -- Multichannel News, 2/25/2003 7:16:00 AM
Former Charter Communications Inc. CEO Jerry Kent is on a roll, landing his third cable deal in about two weeks, the latest of which is a $129 million acquisition of Broadwing Communications Services Inc., a Cincinnati-based telecommunications concern.
Kent's investment company, CEQUEL III, teamed up with telecommunications-equipment provider Corvis Corp. to purchase Broadwing Communications through a joint venture called C III Communications LLC.
C III Communications purchased the assets of Broadwing Communications, including the brand name, for cash. CEQUEL will manage the company.
This is the third investment/purchase by CEQUEL III in less than a month.
On Feb. 12, the company announced a management agreement and investment in Classic Communications Inc. Nine days later, CEQUEL III said it would purchase Shaw Communications Inc.'s Houston-area cable systems for $85 million.
The deal is still subject to regulatory approvals.
'It is a sound strategic fit with the investments CEQUEL III has made to date and those we hope to make in the future,' Kent said in a prepared statement.
Broadwing Communications, formerly known as IXC Communications Inc., was purchased by Cincinnati Bell Inc. in 1999. Cincinnati Bell even changed its name to Broadwing Inc. as part of the deal.
But the acquisition never lived up to its expectations amid the collapse in demand for telecommunications services.
Broadwing Inc. said it will use the proceeds from the sale to pay down debt.
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