Cox swings deal for Segra's enterprise and carrier biz

News Analysis Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading 4/27/2021

Cox Communications has struck a deal to acquire the commercial enterprise and carrier business of Segra, a regional, fiber-based provider that supports large customers in nine states in the US mid-Atlantic and Southeast.

Financial terms were not announced. Bloomberg reported Monday that Cox was in advanced talks to acquire that piece of Segra's business from EQT in a deal valued at more than $3 billion, including debt.

Segra's existing management team will continue to head up the Segra enterprise and carrier organization following the deal, and will keep the Segra brand and operate as a stand-alone business within the Cox family of companies, they said.

EQT Infrastructure will retain ownership of Segra's fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) residential and small and medium-sized business unit in Virginia and North Carolina. EQT said it plans to accelerate an expansion of broadband services to neighborhoods and markets in its regions of focus.

Cox said the enterprise-oriented deal aligns with its plan to focus on "strategic infrastructure," fitting in with recent investments in EasyTel, EdgeConneX, InSite Wireless, StackPath, Unite Private Networks and ViaWest.

"Cox is focused on buying and investing where it makes sense, and we believe that the demand for broadband infrastructure will continue to grow, making fiber an attractive area for long-term investment," Pat Esser, Cox's president and CEO, said in a statement. "Acquiring Segra's commercial services business is another key milestone in our pursuit of strategic infrastructure to ensure that we're providing the best products and services to our customers."

The enterprise piece of Segra's business is also a logical fit for Cox Business, a unit that generated about $2.6 billion in revenues in 2020.

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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading