Cincinnati Bell Plans to Acquire IXC For $2.2 Billion Plus $1 Billion in Debt
Cincinnati Bell Inc. agreed to buy IXC Communications Inc. in a deal valued at $2.2 billion, plus the assumption of about $1 billion in debt.</br></br>The move will enable the company to expand its Cincinnati phone empire to include business services nationwide.</br></br>Wall Street responded to the deal by sending Cincinnati Bell down $3.75, or 16%, to $19.8125 a share in New York Stock Exchange composite trading; shares of IXC rose $3.50, or 9.7%, to $39.75 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.</br></br>IXC, an Austin, Texas, long-distance company, is building a nationwide fiber-optic network amid competition from rivals such as Qwest Communications International Inc. But it has so far failed to inspire investor enthusiasm. IXC brought in a chief executive and chief financial officer and is overhauling its strategy in the business-services market.</br></br>Cincinnati Bell said it is gaining an asset that has the potential to become a big profit center. "We see this as a tremendous marriage," said Richard Ellenberger, president and CEO.