Digital Colony, EQT to take Zayo private for $8.2 billion in cash
.jpg)
Zayo Group Holdings Inc said on Wednesday it has agreed to be taken private by investment firms Digital Colony Partners LP and EQT for about $8.2 billion in cash.
The deal value of $35 per share is at a premium of 14.3 percent to Zayo’s closing price on Tuesday.
Shares of Zayo were up 8 percent at $33.13.
The deal is valued at more than $14 billion, including Zayo’s $5.9 billion debt.
Reuters exclusively reported last month about the potential deal.
Zayo operates a 209,214 km fiber network in the United States and Europe to connect data centers and serves wireless and landline phone companies. It stands to benefit from rising demand for bandwidth in their markets, driven by cloud computing and streaming.
The company, which went public in 2014, has been under pressure from activist hedge funds like Starboard Value LP, which in March urged Zayo to consider a sale after taking a 4 percent stake in the company.
Boulder, Colorado-based Zayo said in November it would break itself up into two companies. However, in February, the company said it was not in its best interest to pursue a public spinoff as part of its strategic review.
The company had earlier rejected acquisition offers, including from a private equity consortium comprising Blackstone Group LP, Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners LP, KKR & Co Inc, I Squared Capital, Charlesbank Capital Partners and GTCR Ltd.
“I am confident this partnership with EQT and Digital Colony will empower Zayo to accelerate its growth and strengthen its industry leadership,” Zayo’s Chief Executive Officer Dan Caruso said in a statement.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory clearance and an approval from Zayo shareholders, is expected to close in the first half of 2020.
Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan are serving as financial advisers to Zayo Group and Skadden Arps is serving as legal counsel. Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank are acting as financial advisers to Digital Colony and EQT Infrastructure, and Simpson Thacher is serving as legal adviser.
source reuters
Industry: Telecommunications News

Latest Jobs
-
- OUTSIDE IR35 Contract- Functional tester- SC clearance Microsoft Windows Server
- London
- Outside IR35 contract
-
Front End Functional tester with SC clearance needed for an Outside IR35 project. Current valid SC clearance is required Experience with functional testing with exchange, sharepoint, SQL and other applications relating across a windows server Migration to 2019. Must be able to get to Central London 3 days a week. Jira, Wiki documentation and automation experience highly desirable.
-
- ForgeRock Consultant- UK
- United Kingdom
- Upto £100,000 plus benefits
-
ForgeRock Consultant/ Architect is require for niche consultancy who are looking to expand their presence within the UK/European Market Looking for a lead IAM architect, ideally with ForgeRock experience but would consider other vendors, But looking for someone who is able to advice and consultant with Clients but have the implementation background so they can get involved in projects as and when needed. Key duties will be: Provider IAM consultancy to clients, with a focus on ForgeRock Product stack ·Responsible for the design and implementation of ForgeRock solutions ·Install and configure ForgeRock stack to meet customer authentication and authorization requirements, ·Design and implement OAuth2 protocol using ForgeRock OpenAM, ·Design and develop OpenAM custom authentication modules, ·Configure ForgeRock stack to protect RESTful API, ·Troubleshoot and support ForgeRock IAM stack. This is a great role to join a niche play as they look to kick of their European expansion
-
- ForgeRock Consultant- Netherlands
- Netherlands
- N/A
-
ForgeRock Consultant required for 6 Month Contract This will be a mix of on site and home based, so need people to be based in the Netherlands We are looking for a lead ForgeRock Technical Consultant/ Architect with strong experience of ForgeRock to lead a new deployment project. ·Responsible for the design and implementation of ForgeRock stack ·Install and configure ForgeRock stack to meet customer authentication and authorization requirements, ·Design and implement OAuth2 protocol using ForgeRock OpenAM, ·Design and develop OpenAM custom authentication modules, ·Configure ForgeRock stack to protect RESTful API, ·Troubleshoot and support ForgeRock IAM stack. ·Designed and developed Restful APIs, This is a great project with an expanding leading IAM player within Europe, We are looking for someone with the above experience, who is comfortable hitting the ground running and taking on the reins at the start of a project