Telecom company CenturyLink said it would sell its data centers and colocation business to a group of funds for $2.15 billion in cash and a minority stake to be valued at $150 million in the consortium’s global secure infrastructure company.
The consortium, made up of funds advised by BC Partners, Medina Capital Advisors and Longview Asset Management, will own CenturyLink’s portfolio of 57 data centers at the close of the deal, expected to be in the first quarter of 2017.
CenturyLink (CTL) said it would use the net proceeds from the sale to partly fund its $24 billion acquisition of Level 3 Communications (LVLT), which it announced on Monday.
CenturyLink, which operates data centers that provide broadband, voice, video, data and managed services in North America, Europe and Asia, has been exploring a sale of some of its data center assets.
The sale process of the company’s data centers was under way, CenturyLink executives said earlier this week.
BofA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo Securities were CenturyLink’s financial advisers while LionTree Advisors provided financial advice to BC Partners and its consortium investors.