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CenturyLink to sell 57 data centers to consortium for $2.15B
The past week has seen telecommunications giant CenturyLink Inc. execute two of the most significant business moves in its recent history.
On Monday, the company signed an agreement to acquire Level 3 Communications Inc. for $34 billion in a deal that is poised to buy it over 200,0000 route miles worth of fiber-optic cabling. Today it followed up the announced sale of its data center business to a consortium led by Miami-based private equity firm Medina Capital. The group, which also includes funds advised by BC Partners and Longview Asset Management, will pay CenturyLink $2.15 billion in return.
The deal encompasses 57 data centers in four continents that have a combined raised floor capacity of approximately 2.6 million square feet. Offloading the facilities will enable CenturyLink to free up more resources for its core networking business, which is the same reason why Verizon Communications Inc. has reportedly been trying to sell its own hosting operation.
But there are a couple of key differences between the carriers’ roadmaps. For starters, CenturyLink will keep offering co-location services through a partnership with the buyers that is set to go into effect after the deal completes.
Also, the capital from the transaction is set to go mainly toward funding its acquisition of Level 3. The company has agreed to take on a nearly $10 billion debt as part of the acquisition that its management presumably wants to return as quickly as possible in a bid to reduce interest payments.
Meanwhile, the consortium on the buy side of today’s data center deal plans to transfer the facilities to a new joint venture that will provide secure co-location services. Medina Capital and its peers quietly bought up four network protection startups against the backdrop of the negotiations with CenturyLink to bolster the planned company. They include breach prevention specialists Catbird Inc. and Cryptzone Inc., fraud detection provider Easy Solutions Inc. and security forensics firm Brainspace Inc. CenturyLink is set to receive a $150 million stake in the joint venture on top of its cash compensation once the deal closes.
Image via CenturyLink
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