Macquarie wins bidding for Cincinnati Bell as Brookfield drops out
Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE: CBB), which enjoyed the fruits of a bidding war between a pair of investment firms, has confirmed Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets Inc. (MIRA) will end up the service provider’s new owner. Suitor Brookfield Infrastructure (NYSE: BIP; TSX: BIP.UN), which had gone as far as reaching a purchase agreement with Cincinnati Bell, declined to match MIRA’s final bid of $15.50 per share in cash for all outstanding shares of Cincinnati Bell common stock. The transaction likely is worth slightly more than $3 billion.
Brookfield originally reached an agreement to acquire Cincinnati Bell in December 2019 for $10.50 per share (see “Brookfield Infrastructure to buy Cincinnati Bell for $2.6 billion”). However, another bidder emerged (unidentified at the time, but likely MIRA) with a non-binding offer of $12.50 per share, which Brookfield matched (see “New agreement sees Brookfield Infrastructure paying more for Cincinnati Bell, but better bid surfaces”). Undaunted, MIRA up its bid to $13.50, then $14.50, with Brookfield stepping up each time. Apparently, $14.50 per share was as high as Brookfield was willing to go. The $15.50 per share price is approximately twice the closing $7.72 per share price on December 20, 2019, the last trading day prior to the original merger agreement with Brookfield.
Cincinnati Bell had anticipated a merger with Brookfield would close by the end of this year. It has not released an expected timetable for the new transaction. The final merger agreement with Brookfield carried a provision that would have Cincinnati Bell pay a breakup fee of $24.8 million “in certain circumstances.” The service provider did not disclose whether payment of the breakup fee would be required in the current circumstances.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.