Consolidated Communications to Be Bought For $3.1 Billion, Including Debt

Consolidated Communications has agreed to be bought for $3.1 billion, including debt, in a take-private deal that will remove the fiber company from the public markets as it grapples with higher interest rates and rising costs. Searchlight Capital Partners, a private-equity firm that already owns more than 34 percent of Consolidated Communications, and British Columbia Investment Management agreed to pay $4.70 a share for the company. The company has faced various challenges as it works to build up its next-generation fiber network. Operating costs have risen and the cost of financing new projects has risen along with interest rates. “Several factors recently necessitated that we delay our estimated fiber build completion beyond 2026,” said Chief Executive Bob Udell. Consolidated in second quarter 2023 reached nearly 1.12 million total fiber passings, covering 43 percent of its overall footprint with fiber according to Fierce. By the end of 2023, it’s said it plans to run fiber to 225,000 passings.