The FCC has concluded an agreement to be bought out by global investment firms Digital Colony and EQT Partners. The deal, approved by the FCC, includes Zayo Holdings Inc. and its subsidiaries Zayo Group, Electric Lightwave, and Allstream Business US. The control of the companies will be transferred to FrontRange TopCo, a company set up for the purposes of the buyout.
The deal was first announced in May 2019. After some mystery over who Zayo would sell to, the company announced the deal would be with Digital Colony Partners and EQT Fund Management for $14.3 billion, or $35 a share. Zayo previously rejected a $6 billion takeover offer in January 2019, made by a consortium led by Blackstone. That price worked out to about $30 per share.
At the time it accepted its current offer, Zayo said it planned to maintain its team and headquarters in Boulder even after going private. The company reported having 3,774 employees as of 2018, according to Denver Business Journal research.
In July, shareholders approved selling the Boulder-based business to a consortium of private equity firms.
For its second quarter, announced on Feb. 4, Zayo beat analyst expectations by 11 cents a share. The company posted earnings per share of 26 cents. Net income was $61.4 million. Its revenue grew more than 2% year-over-year to $653.7 million.
