Windstream announced their acquisition of Iowa Telecom is now complete. The final transaction was valued at $1.2 billion, with Iowa Telecom shareholders receiving 0.804 shares of Windstream stock and $7.90 in cash for each Iowa Telecom share. Iowa Telecom Chairman and CEO Alan Wells was appointed to the Windstream board of directors effective with the closing of the transaction
With the acquisition, Windstream will absorb 249,000 access lines, 96,000 high-speed Internet customers and 27,500 digital TV customers in Iowa and Minnesota. Windstream has now closed on all of the transactions from its recent flurry of M&A activity. These transactions included Lexcom, D&E Communications (PA), NuVox, and now Iowa Telecom. It leads many of us analysts to ask the obvious question Windstream – who is next?