EQT, Digital Colony, Stonepeak group near deal to buy Zayo, say sources: Reuters
Summary
A consortium including investment firms Digital Colony Partners LP, EQT AB and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners has secured exclusive rights to negotiate a deal to buy U.S. communications infrastructure provider Zayo Group Holdings Inc, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The deal, potentially one of the biggest leveraged buyouts of the year, would come after activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP disclosed a 4 percent stake in Zayo last month and pressed it to seriously consider a sale. Zayo operates a 130,000-mile (209,214 km) fiber network in the United States and Europe that helps connect data centers and serves wireless and landline phone companies. Plans disclosed in November to convert to a real estate investment trust as early as 2020 were also pushed back in February. If Zayo decides to remain independent, it would need to streamline operations, be more disciplined in allocating capital, and improve oversight, Starboard wrote in a letter to the company last month.