By Erin McCarthy
Cincinnati Bell Inc. said Monday that it has agreed to sell its
wireless spectrum licenses and other related assets to Verizon
Wireless Inc. in a deal valued at $210 million.
Cincinnati Bell Wireless will sell all of its rights, titles and
interest in its wireless spectrum licenses for $194 million in
cash, while Verizon will take over certain tower lease
obligations.
CBW said it expects to continue to provide wireless service for
eight to 12 months from the time of signing, and that customers
don't need to take any action at this time.
"This transaction is an important step toward increasing focus
on our growing strategic product base, wireless service and support
throughout the transition period," said Ted Torbeck, president and
chief executive of Cincinnati Bell, adding that it gives the
company "increased flexibility" to meet growing customer demand for
its suite of fiber-optic connection products.
Verizon, one of the two biggest wireless carriers in the U.S.,
has been active as it has faced renewed pressure from its rivals
AT&T Inc., T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. in the battle for
customers.
Verizon late last year reached a $130 billion agreement to buy
Vodafone Group PLC's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. In January, it
agreed to buy from Intel Corp. the assets of Intel Media, a
business division that develops Cloud TV products and services.
CBW will lease back the spectrum it is selling for a period of
time following the closing of the transaction, in order to wind
down its wireless network operations and to help its wireless
customers transition their service to Verizon Wireless or other
wireless providers, the company said. The transaction is expected
to close in the second half of 2014.
Verizon, meanwhile, has separately agreed to assign its rights
to acquire the spectrum licenses being sold by Cincinnati Bell to
private-equity firm Grain Management, LLC. Verizon will then lease
certain of the spectrum licenses from Grain Management, Cincinnati
Bell said in a statement.
Write to Erin McCarthy at erin.mccarthy@wsj.com
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