WideOpenWest deals sell five service areas for $1.79 billion

US broadband provider WideOpenWest (WOW!) inked a pair of deals to sell off five service areas for a combined $1.79 billion. WOW!’s move includes two separate transactions: a $1.13 billion deal with Atlantic Broadband covering its Cleveland and Columbus (OH) markets and a $661 million sale of its Chicago (IL), Evansville, (IN), and Anne Arundel (MD) service areas to Astound Broadband. The deals are expected to close in the second half of 2021. CEO Teresa Elder stated that proceeds from the transactions will allow the company to reduce debt, ramp edge outs, focus on improving penetration and invest in new greenfield opportunities. WOW! currently has a hybrid fiber coax architecture throughout most of its network. Elder said when looking at greenfield builds, the company chooses the technology that is “most economic and sets us up well for the future.” Looking ahead, she noted “we may be looking at more fiber just because of the economics of it now.”