Windstream divested or will divest more than $60 million in assets through an agreement to sell some of its dark fiber to Minnesota-based rural telecom provider Arvig Enterprises. The Windstream Arvig deal will include two transactions.
In the larger of two transactions, Windstream sold $49.5 million of fiber assets in Minnesota to Arvig in a cash transaction.
Windstream also announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell additional fiber assets in Nebraska to Arvig for $11 million, a deal that is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019.
As part of the transactions, Windstream will establish a fiber network relationship with Arvig, enabling Windstream to continue to use the assets to sell its products and services in Minnesota and Nebraska.
Windstream Arvig Deal
“These transactions monetize latent dark fiber assets in Minnesota and Nebraska, lower capital requirements in each state and allow us to focus on our core network offerings with minimal change to our operations going forward. The structure also sets a roadmap for future fiber monetization across our footprint,” said Bob Gunderman, chief financial officer and treasurer for Windstream, in a press release.
“Expanding our broadband footprint is core to our strategic priorities and bolsters our fiber assets throughout Minnesota and across the Midwest,” said David Arvig, vice president and chief operating officer at Arvig, in a prepared statement. “The additional Nebraska transaction will provide a critical link for our network beyond Minnesota supporting our continued growth throughout the region.”
