Consolidated Communications to Acquire Illinois-based Champaign Telephone Company
April 18 2016 - 04:00PM
Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CNSL) announced
today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire
Champaign Telephone Company (CTC) and its sister company, Big
Broadband Services, a private business communications provider in
the Champaign-Urbana, Ill. area.
“We are excited to welcome CTC customers to the Consolidated
Communications family and look forward to building upon the strong
business Mike and his team have built in the greater
Champaign-Urbana, Ill. area,” said Bob Udell, president and chief
executive officer of Consolidated Communications. “This
acquisition would add 275 fiber route miles and 310 lit buildings
to our existing fiber network which extends to Champaign, Ill., a
community located just 50 miles north from our Mattoon, Ill.
headquarters. It’s a great fit with our focus on expanding
our fiber network and commercial services.”
“CTC joining Consolidated Communications will create a highly
competitive company with increased resources, expertise and an
expanded portfolio of commercial services that will benefit CTC
customers,” said Mike Hosier, owner of CTC. “I believe this
agreement will take CTC customers to the next level and provide
important benefits to the community as well.”
CTC began in 1984 as a small PBX provider and has grown into a
regional leader in Internet, Voice, Metro Ethernet, and Hosted VoIP
provider. CTC serves approximately 1,500 business customers
over 310 fiber-lit buildings. CTC recorded fiscal 2015
revenue of approximately $10 million, the majority of which is
recurring service revenue.
The agreement provides for an all cash transaction valued at
$13.0 million. The closing is subject to standard closing
conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to
close in the second or third quarter of 2016.
About Consolidated CommunicationsConsolidated
Communications Holdings, Inc. is a leading broadband and business
communications provider throughout its 11-state service area.
The Company leverages its advanced fiber optic network and multiple
data centers to offer a wide range of communications solutions,
including data, voice, video, managed services, cloud computing and
wireless backhaul. Headquartered in Mattoon, IL, the Company
has been providing services in many of its markets for more than a
century.
Safe Harbor The Securities and Exchange
Commission (“SEC”) encourages companies to disclose forward-looking
information so that investors can better understand a company’s
future prospects and make informed investment decisions.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking
statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements reflect, among other things, our current
expectations, plans, strategies, and anticipated financial results.
There are a number of risks, uncertainties, and conditions
that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include a number of factors
related to our business, including economic and financial market
conditions generally and economic conditions in our service areas;
various risks to shareholders of not receiving dividends and risks
to our ability to pursue growth opportunities if we continue to pay
dividends according to the current dividend policy; various risks
to the price and volatility of our common stock; changes in the
valuation of pension plan assets; the substantial amount of debt
and our ability to repay or refinance it or incur additional debt
in the future; our need for a significant amount of cash to service
and repay the debt and to pay dividends on the common stock;
restrictions contained in our debt agreements that limit the
discretion of management in operating the business; regulatory
changes, including changes to subsidies, rapid development and
introduction of new technologies and intense competition in the
telecommunications industry; risks associated with our possible
pursuit of acquisitions; system failures; losses of large customers
or government contracts; risks associated with the rights-of-way
for the network; disruptions in the relationship with third party
vendors; losses of key management personnel and the inability to
attract and retain highly qualified management and personnel in the
future; changes in the extensive governmental legislation and
regulations governing telecommunications providers and the
provision of telecommunications services; telecommunications
carriers disputing and/or avoiding their obligations to pay network
access charges for use of our network; high costs of regulatory
compliance; the competitive impact of legislation and regulatory
changes in the telecommunications industry; and liability and
compliance costs regarding environmental regulations. A detailed
discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results and events to differ materially from such
forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our
reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Many of these
circumstances are beyond our ability to control or predict.
Moreover, forward-looking statements necessarily involve
assumptions on our part. These forward-looking statements
generally are identified by the words “believe”, “expect”,
“anticipate”, “estimate”, “project”, “intend”, “plan”, “should”,
“may”, “will”, “would”, “will be”, “will continue” or similar
expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
actual results, performance or achievements of Consolidated
Communications Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries to be different
from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons
acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by
the cautionary statements that appear throughout this press
release. Furthermore, forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date they are made. Except as required under the
federal securities laws or the rules and regulations of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, we disclaim any intention or
obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking
statements. You should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements.
Company Contacts:
Matt Smith
VP of Finance & Treasurer
217-258-2959
matthew.smith@consolidated.com
Jennifer Spaude
Sr. Director of Corporate Communications
507-386-3765
Jennifer.spaude@consolidated.com
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