Government & Politics  February 6, 2020

FCC signs off on Zayo sale

BOULDER — The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a plan for Zayo Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) to sell itself to two private investment groups for $14.3 billion, days after the company said it plans to close that deal in coming weeks.

The FCC said it approved the sale of the Boulder-based fiber-bandwidth company after the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Defense reviewed the deal for potential national security issues, according to a public notice filed Thursday afternoon.

Federal regulators had oversight of the deal because of Zayo’s status as a data provider to multiple regional communications providers and because one of its buyers, EQT Infrastructure IV Fund, is owned by Swedish private equity firm EQT AB and would have 100 percent of the company’s voting interest. Digital Colony LLC, the other private buyer in the deal, is based in Florida.

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The FCC also did not view the sale as a threat to competition for its competitors or customers, and did not receive any public comment against the deal.

“The proposed transfers present no significant competitive harms and should likely result in some public interest benefits related to network investment and the increased ability of the combined company to serve customers on its own facilities,” regulators said.

Zayo posted $653.7 million in revenue in the last quarter, according to its earnings report this week. It now plans to close the sale to EQT and Digital Colony in the late first quarter to early second quarter of 2020 after previously estimating the closure to come by the end of the first half of the year.

It’s unclear if any other American or foreign government agencies have pending antitrust reviews on the deal. A spokeswoman for Zayo declined to comment Thursday afternoon.

 

© 2020 BizWest Media LLC

BOULDER — The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a plan for Zayo Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZAYO) to sell itself to two private investment groups for $14.3 billion, days after the company said it plans to close that deal in coming weeks.

The FCC said it approved the sale of the Boulder-based fiber-bandwidth company after the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Defense reviewed the deal for potential national security issues, according to a public notice filed Thursday afternoon.

Federal regulators had oversight of the deal because of Zayo’s…

Ken Amundson
Ken Amundson is managing editor of BizWest. He has lived in Loveland and reported on issues in the region since 1987. Prior to Colorado, he reported and edited for news organizations in Minnesota and Iowa. He's a parent of two and grandparent of four, all of whom make their homes on the Front Range. A news junkie at heart, he also enjoys competitive sports, especially the Rapids.
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