FCC greenlights Consolidated’s investment deal with Searchlight

Consolidated Communications, an US broadband and business communications provider headquartered in Mattoon (IL), secured a key approval for a multi-million investment deal it struck with private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners, as the Federal Communications Commission signed off on the transaction, conditioned on terms laid out in a Letter of Agreement Consolidated signed with the Department of Justice. Under these terms, Consolidated must designate a US law enforcement contact who will have access to its records; appoint and maintain a security officer with a US government security clearance to address any security concerns identified; prepare a cybersecurity plan and a system security plan following guidelines laid out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology; comply with lawful interception statutes; provide notice of any security breaches within 48 hours of their discovery; submit a list of what network equipment it uses for approval; and provide notice of any changes to its business model, corporate structure or service offerings within 30 days. The FCC was required to weigh in because the deal would transfer more than 25% ownership of the company to a foreign entity. Specifically, the agency noted that following phase two of the deal, Searchlight would own “34.55% of Consolidated’s common voting stock and all of the non-voting Preferred Stock, which together would represent approximately 49.21% of the company’s total equity.”