Windstream announces fourth telecom acquisition this year

Earlier this week, Arkansas telecommunications company Windstream announced a plan to acquire Iowa Telecom, a deal that will increase the buyer’s presence in the Upper Midwest region of the US, adding hundreds of thousands access lines and more than 100,000 business and residential customers.

Iowa telecom provides services in Iowa and Minnesota. Its data center, used to provide colocation and hosting services, is located in Newton, Iowa. Windstream expects to close the transaction in mid-2010.

“These are well-run, profitable properties in very rural service areas that expand our presence in the Upper Midwest and grow our free cash flow per share,” Windstream President and CEO Jeff Gardner said in a statement.

Definitive agreement on the $1.1-billion transaction is the latest and largest in a string of acquisitions Windstream has announced this year. The company said in early November it struck an agreement to buy Greenville, S.C.-based exchange carrier NuVox for $463 million. In September, Windstream announced an acquisition of Lexingon, N.C.-based telecom Lexcom for $141 million.

Windstream also closed its acquisition of D&E Communications earlier this month. The $330-million deal to purchase the Ephrata, Pa.-based telecom was originally announced in May.

With all the above transactions combined, Winstream will now be present in most Mid-Western, Southern and North-Eastern states, as well as New Mexico.

“Windstream has extensive experience with successfully integrating new properties,” Gardner said. “The transactions we have announced this year are scheduled to close in an orderly fashion over a period of time providing the opportunity for very manageable integrations. Each of these companies is extremely well run, and we are very far along in our integration planning.”

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