Windstream acquires New York City-based telecom in all-cash deal for $37.5 million
by March 27, 2018 4:31 pm 568 views
Windstream Holdings Inc. on Tuesday (March 27) acquired an East Coast telecom network management firm for nearly $37.5 million in an all-cash deal that will add nearly 40 new employees to the company’s payroll.
The deal to acquire MASS Communications, a privately-held telecom firm based in New York City, is Windstream’s third acquisition in the past 13 months as the Little Rock-based broadband operator seeks to profit from the growing demand for cloud-based services and high-speed network enterprise products.
MASS Communications serves a broad range of small to mid-sized global enterprises in the financial, legal, healthcare, technology, education and government sectors, company officials said, providing custom-engineered voice, data and networking solutions.
“This acquisition adds a well-run company with a customer-first mindset and an impressive track record of growing revenue to Windstream,” Layne Levine, president of Windstream’s enterprise and wholesale business unit, said. “MASS Communications customers now will have access to our deep portfolio of networking solutions and cloud-based services, including SD-WAN Concierge and OfficeSuite.”
Besides the deal’s asking price, Windstream did not provide any details of MASS’ annual revenues or profitability. Windstream did say that the value of the deal, inclusive of synergies, would be fully realized within 90 days.
As a part of the acquisition, MASS Communications CEO Darren Mass will join Windstream as president of resale for the company’s Enterprise & Wholesale business unit.
“MASS Communications has built a phenomenal portfolio of clients through both partner and reseller relationships,” Levine said. “Darren’s collaborative, customer-centric approach to solutions and commitment to a superior customer experience are aligned with our company values. I am confident his leadership of our reseller business will help drive organic revenue growth.”
In Tuesday’s session on Wall Street, Windstream shares were down 5.3%, or nine cents at $1.61 in late trading on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. Nearly a month ago, Windstream posted a fourth quarter loss of $1.84 billion, or a loss of $10.26 per share. Those results included a $1.8 billion one-time impairment charge related to the company’s wireline phone service for residential, small businesses and wholesale consumers.
In January, Windstream announced plans to eliminated 54 positions from various workgroups in Arkansas, including 43 positions in Little Rock. The company had some 1,275 employees in Arkansas and about 13,000 nationwide at the end of the year, company officials have said.