MONROE, La.-Century Telephone Enterprises Inc. said it completed its acquisition of Pacific Telecom, the largest in its history, and another acquisition of additional ownership interests in a limited partnership that operates Wisconsin Rural Service Area 8.
Pacific Telecom’s parent company, PacifiCorp, received $1.5 billion in cash for the stock of Pacific Telecom. PTI’s debt at closing was approximately $725 million.
Century acquired nearly 1.9 million cellular pops in six states, and more than doubled its personal communications services ownership to 8.1 million pops with the Pacific Telecom purchase.
“This is a major event for Century as we almost double the size of our company and significantly expand our market presence,” said Century’s President and Chief Executive Officer Glen F. Post III.
“Century is committed to providing the highest quality service possible to our customers and to building shareholder value over the long term. We believe this acquisition will better position us to achieve these goals and take advantage of future opportunities for growth in rural America.”
Century gained approximately 177,000 pops with the Wisconsin RSA acquisition, which, in conjunction with the PTI acquisition, brought its total pops to more than 10 million.
Century was named the operator of Wisconsin RSA 8 and gained an additional 76 percent interest from United States Cellular Corp., bringing its total ownership interest to 80 percent.
Located in the southwestern corner of the state, the RSA is contiguous to Century’s La Crosse, Wis., cellular operations and to its operated Wisconsin RSAs 6 and 7.
Wisconsin RSA 8 serves a population of approximately 235,000 in eight counties.
Century Telephone Enterprises Inc. said it provides communications services to more than 2 million customers in 21 states.
