The two private equity investors are paying $35 a share for the company – giving recent investors a tiny profit, as Zayo’s shares on the New York Stock Exchange closed last night at $34.90.
The company’s shares reached a five-year high in July 2018 at $38.44, but then fell rapidly over the rest of 2018, hitting $20.68 in late December – and provoking wide speculation about possible buyers.
Zayo’s chairman and CEO, Dan Caruso (pictured), welcomed the bid in May 2019, saying: “Digital Colony and EQT share our vision that Zayo’s Fibre Fuels Global Innovation. Both are experienced global investors in the communications infrastructure space, and they appreciate our extraordinary fibre infrastructure assets, our highly talented team and our strong customer base. I am confident this partnership with EQT and Digital Colony will empower Zayo to accelerate its growth and strengthen its industry leadership.”
Zayo’s shareholders approved the deal on 26 July 2019, when the share price closed at $33.63. Since then, the price has not changed much – gradually moving upwards to its current level, with shareholders confident that they’d make a profit, however small, on completion of the deal. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the acquisition three weeks ago.
Over the past few weeks Digital Colony, headed by Marc Ganzi, and EQT, headed by Christian Sinding, have been actively raising funds for this and other deals. EQT has launched a fund to raise €14.75 billion, and both have raised debt to help fund the Zayo acquisition.
