BELLEVUE, Wash.-Nextlink Communications Inc. announced it has reached an agreement to
acquire WNP Communications Inc. in a combined cash and stock transaction valued at $695 million.
Through the
deal, Nextlink will receive WNP’s 39 A-block local multipoint distribution service wireless licenses, covering a
population of 98 million, and one B-block LMDS license, covering a population of 16 million.
Nextlink, founded by
Craig McCaw in 1994, said it will use these licenses to build fixed wireless extensions of a planned local fiber-optic
network that will cover most major cities.
Under terms of the transactions, $542.1 million will be paid to WNP and
another $152.9 million in license charges will be paid to the Federal Communications Commission.
Additionally,
Nextlink said it signed a broad agreement in principle to buy Nextel Communications Inc.’s half of Nextband, the joint
venture between Nextel and Nextlink. Nextband owns 13 A-block and 29 B-block LMDS licenses. The purchase price
was listed at $137.7 million.
With the licenses acquired in the two transactions, Nextlink will become the largest
holder of LMDS wireless spectrum in North America, with about 95 percent of the top 30 markets.
“This is a
very important strategic announcement for Nextlink and will allow us to rapidly extend our local networks to a much
broader target audience and advance our goal of becoming a complete facilities-based, end-to-end provider of
telecommunications services,” said Wayne Perry, Nextlink chief executive officer. “Fixed wireless will
give us another important transport and access capability to complement our local and inter-city fiber networks that are
being developed throughout the United States.”
As stated, the wireless spectrum will be used to complement
the company’s local fiber networks and its Internext inter-city long haul fiber network, currently under
development.
“By using fixed wireless as an alternative means to reach our customers, we can further reduce
our reliance on the ILEC, thereb, relieving our provisioning bottleneck, accelerating our installation time and increasing
the number of on-net buildings we serve,” said George Tronsrue, Nextlink president and chief operating officer.
