WideOpenWest LLC chairman and CEO Mark Haverkate has resigned and formed
another venture, Champion Broadband, which intends to buy WOW's Denver
operation.
Haverkate told Multichannel News he will continue to participate as
the third-largest shareholder in the overbuilder. However, he left his
management position.
He and his brother, David, are buying the partially built system in operation
in Denver and Lakewood, Colo., with their own money, Haverkate said. He would
not disclose the purchase price of the system, which serves about 2,000
customers.
WOW began its business with the greenfield build in Denver, but then expanded
by buying the former Ameritech Corp. cable properties in Michigan, Illinois,
Indiana and Ohio.
The Denver build stopped while the company focused on serving the existing
subscriber base it bought in the Midwest.
Dean Smits, Denver's director of the office of telecommunications, confirmed
that Champion has filed a transfer-of-ownership application for the local
system.
