WOW! Weighs Takeover Offer From Private Equity

WideOpenWest
(Image credit: Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Englewood, Colorado-based cable operator WideOpenWest (WOW!) canceled the Q&A portion of its first-quarter earnings report Tuesday, as a specially convened WOW! board committee considers an unsolicited takeover offer from private equity. 

As announced on Friday, DigitalBridge Investments LLC and "various Crestview entities" have made a cash offer to purchase all outstanding WOW! shares not already owned by Crestview for $4.80 a share. 

WOW!’s stock price briefly spiked more than 33% to $4.86 per share before settling at around $4.64 on Tuesday.

For the first quarter, WOW! reported a 6.2% year-over-year decline in revenue to $161.5 million, with a net loss of $15 million. 

“The decrease is primarily driven by a shift in service offering mix as we continue to experience a reduction in Video and Telephony RGUs, coupled with a decrease in volume across all services,” WOW! said in its earnings release

Sales of high-speed internet connectivity were actually up 1% to $106.2 million, and customer losses for broadband narrowed to just 400 versus 2,900 in the first quarter of last year. 

“Our first-quarter results represent a strong start to the year as we make further progress in our new greenfield markets and continued improvements in our legacy footprint,” WOW! CEO Teresa Elder said. “The strong penetration rates across our business reinforces our conviction in our strategy and confidence in our teams to continue growing our business.”

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!

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