LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
MARCH 2016 41
2015 FOREIGN
INBOUND
(US) DEAL
OF THE YEAR
Zayo Group Holdings
Inc. acquires MTS
Allstream Holdings Inc.
for $465 million
By the time Zayo Group Holdings Inc., a
Colorado-based telecommunications in-
frastructure owner, announced it would be
buying Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.'s
Allstream Holdings Inc. for $465 million
in November, most of the groundwork had
been laid.
Two years ago the federal government
blocked a previous attempt to sell All-
stream to an investment firm co-founded
by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris on
national security grounds. MTS – which
has 9,000-plus kilometres of fibre network
in Toronto, Montréal, Vancouver, Ottawa
and Calgary – also runs telecommunica-
tions networks for many of Canada's gov-
ernment agencies.
MTS was still determined to sell All-
stream and resolved not to have the same
thing happen again. is time, as the par-
ent was engaged in talks with six strategic
bidders, executives also spent time in Ot-
tawa making sure they understood "the
complete needs and expectations" of the
relevant regulators.
MTS Chief Executive Officer Jay Forbes
said the Canadian company decided on
Zayo because the bid not only represented
full value for this asset but also "gives us a
reasonable degree of certainty in terms of
closure." e strategy paid off. In January,
the companies announced that, given the
satisfaction of certain conditions to closing
as set out in the share purchase agreement,
the transaction was expected to close "ex-
peditiously." Zayo has a 140,000-kilometre
fibre network in the US and Europe.
Commercial or Residential.
We've got you covered.
FCT has been leading the charge in the Canadian
title insurance industry for 25 years and still
knows it best.
Choose a partner that will stand the test of time.
Choose FCT.
® Registered Trademark of First American Financial Corporation.
™Trademark of First American Financial Corporation.
u
FCT.ca I 1.800.307.0370
15-314 RS CS combined ad_final.indd 1 2016-01-25 11:24 AM
| 2015 DEALMAKERS |
