Time Warner Cable has expanded its fiber footprint in the Southeast by reaching an agreement to buy DukeNet Communications for $600 million in cash.
Time Warner Cable reached the agreement, which included the repayment of debt, with Duke Energy Corporation and investment funds managed by Alinda Capital Partners, both of which had 50 percent stakes in DukeNet.
The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of next year, will bolster Time Warner Cable’s business services in the area while adding more fiber to its network. DukeNet, based in Charlotte, N.C., is a regional fiber optic network company serving customers in North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as five other states in the Southeast.
With a fiber optic network of over 8,700 miles, DukeNet provides data and high-capacity bandwidth services to wireless carrier, data center, government, and enterprise customers.
“Business Services is a key growth area for Time Warner Cable and this acquisition will greatly enhance our already growing fiber network to better serve customers, particularly those in key markets in the Carolinas,” said Phil Meeks, executive vice president and COO of business services for Time Warner Cable. “This acquisition will help us expand our fiber footprint at a price that is consistent with our disciplined approach to M&A, accounting for expected synergies and tax benefits.”
RBC Capital Markets, LLC advised Duke Energy and Alinda on the sale of DukeNet, and Moore & Van Allen PLLC provided legal counsel. Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP provided legal counsel to Time Warner Cable.
Faced with rising programming costs and declining basic video subscribes, Time Warner Cable CEO and Chairman Glenn Britt recently said that business services and broadband were growth opportunities for the company.
In the most recent second quarter, Time Warner Cable’s business services revenue increased by 22 percent for the 13th consecutive quarter. Time Warner Cable put Meeks, a former Cox Business executive, in charge of its business services division earlier this year.
Two years ago, Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable purchased business cloud-vendor NaviSite for $230 million.
