Cincinnati Bell to sell Wireless Spectrum Licenses

Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE:CBB) said Monday that it has agreed to sell its wireless spectrum licenses and other related assets to Verizon Wireless Inc. in a deal valued at $210 million.

Cincinnati Bell Wireless (“CBW”) will sell all of its rights, titles and interest in its wireless spectrum licenses for $194 million in cash, while Verizon will take over certain tower lease obligations.

CBW said it expects to continue to provide wireless service for eight to 12 months from the time of signing, and that customers don’t need to take any action at this time.

“This transaction is an important step toward increasing focus on our growing strategic product base, wireless service and support throughout the transition period,” said Ted Torbeck, president and chief executive of Cincinnati Bell, adding that it gives the company “increased flexibility” to meet growing customer demand for its suite of fiber-optic connection products.

Verizon, one of the two biggest wireless carriers in the U.S., has been active as it has faced renewed pressure from its rivals AT&T Inc., T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. in the battle for customers.

Verizon late last year reached a $130 billion agreement to buy Vodafone Group PLC’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. In January, it agreed to buy from Intel Corp. the assets of Intel Media, a business division that develops Cloud TV products and services.

CBW will lease back the spectrum it is selling for a period of time following the closing of the transaction, in order to wind down its wireless network operations and to help its wireless customers transition their service to Verizon Wireless or other wireless providers, the company said. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2014.

Verizon, meanwhile, has separately agreed to assign its rights to acquire the spectrum licenses being sold by Cincinnati Bell to private-equity firm Grain Management, LLC. Verizon will then lease certain of the spectrum licenses from Grain Management, Cincinnati Bell said in a statement.

Source: WSJ