Corvis Buys CLEC for $210M
The deal, which involves the issue of $101 million in new Corvis stock to Focal's shareholders and "the assumption or payment of approximately $109 million of Focal's existing debt and other long-term capital lease obligations," will not come as a shock. Corvis was on the hunt for a carrier that would help expand the market and cut the access costs of its existing subsidiary long-haul carrier Broadwing Communications LLC (see Corvis Gets Ready to Pounce).
"Focal will help us expand our nationwide network footprint and reduce our access costs," said Corvis CEO David Huber in a prepared statement. "They will also help add valuable customers and revenue without putting undue stress on our balance sheet." Corvis expects to close the acquisition in the third quarter.
Focal provides voice and data services to business customers, resellers, and other CLECs. It expects to report 2003 revenues of about $320 million.
Corvis had originally been interested in bankrupt operator Allegiance Telecom Inc., but dropped out of the reckoning before an auction that saw XO Communications Inc. (OTC: XOXO) expand its business (see XO Buys Allegiance ).
— Ray Le Maistre, International Editor, Boardwatch
Could one of the technical experts be so kind as to explain how easy/hard/expensive it is to tie in a network like Focals to Broadwing? The concern would be that if Broadwing was built using the "Huber model" and Focal obviously was not, how much equipment must be replaced, how much remapping must be done of the network, et al?
ksig25