Cogeco Communications Inc. is bolstering its presence south of the border after announcing its U.S. subsidiary will acquire WideOpenWest Inc.'s Ohio telecom business for US$1.1 billion.
The Montreal-based company's U.S. subsidiary Atlantic Broadband will pay US$1.1 billion for the internet, phone and cable assets from WideOpenWest's Ohio operations. That business generated US$244 million in revenue in the 12 months ending March 31, the company said in a release.
"The acquisition of WOW's Ohio broadband systems allows us to add significant scale to our growing and profitable U.S. broadband business," said Philippe Jetté, president and chief executive officer of Cogeco, in a release.
Presently, Atlantic Broadband’s network stretches along the U.S. Eastern seaboard from Maine down to Florida.
"We are taking a major step in advancing Atlantic Broadband's high-growth strategy by expanding our reach beyond the east coast footprint with attractive markets, that will be strongly receptive to our customer-centric focus, superfast Internet, best-in-class managed WiFi and advanced video services," said Frank van der Post, Atlantic Broadband President, in a release.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2022.
The deal comes shortly after Cogeco fended off a takeover attempt by rival operator Rogers Communications Inc. Rogers later announced a deal to buy western Canada operator Shaw Communcations Inc. for $26 billion.
Revenue in Cogeco’s most recent quarter was up 8.2 per cent to $634.5 million, thanks in part to a friendly takeover of Quebec-based DERYtelecom which closed in December.
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