The purchase price is based on tower cash flow and is payable with respect to commenced tenant leases.
SureWest expects that the final aggregate purchase price will be in the range of $9.5 million to $10.2 million. The company expects to use the net proceeds from the transaction to continue the expansion of its fiber-to-the-home broadband network in both its Sacramento and Kansas City regions. UBS Investment Bank acted as the exclusive financial advisor to SureWest on its tower sale.
Steve Oldham, president and CEO of SureWest, said: We are pleased to sell our towers to Global Tower Partners, which was the appropriate move for the company following the sale of our wireless assets to Verizon Wireless earlier this year. The net proceeds from the towers will continue to enhance our financial flexibility as we expand our fiber-based triple-play offerings tom a broader service area.
In addition to divesting the assets of its Wireless business for $69.0 million, SureWest sold its Directory Publishing business to GateHouse Media for $110 million in early 2007. In February 2008, it acquired Everest Broadband, a broadband leader in the Kansas City region. It continues to review other assets, including real estate, that are no longer necessary to serve the company’s customers and grow the business.
