Bidder boosts purchase price for Hawaiian Telcom’s parent

Toronto-based Brookfield Infrastructure has raised its offer for Hawaiian Telcom’s parent to $12.50 a share to exceed the nonbinding bid from another suitor.

Hawaiian Telcom parent Cincinnati Bell said Friday before the market opened that the new definitive merger agreement with Brookfield increases the purchase price to $2.745 billion. That is up from the $2.6 billion offer that Brookfield made in December, which would pay Cincinnati Bell shareholders $10.50 a share.

Shares of Cincinnati Bell soared 5.9%, or 73 cents, to $13.05 Friday on heavy volume of 1.4 million shares, more than double its 12-month daily average of 568,808 shares. The revised transaction price represents a 62% premium to the closing price of $7.72 on Dec. 20, the last trading day prior to the date when the initial merger agreement was accepted.

Last month Macquarie Group Ltd. infrastructure fund made an unsolicited offer for $12 a share.

The bidding war still may not be finished given that investors bid the closing stock price to 4.4% above Brookfield’s higher offer.

Cincinnati Bell said its board determined that entering into the amended agreement with Brookfield was in the best interests of Cincinnati Bell and its shareholders. Cincinnati Bell’s board approved the amended agreement and recommended that the company’s shareholders vote in favor of adopting the deal. The transaction, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, is expected to close by the end of this year.

“After receiving a binding proposal reflecting a higher purchase price for Cincinnati Bell, Cincinnati Bell advised Brookfield of the proposal, which led to Brookfield increasing the price of our transaction with them,” Cincinnati Bell Chairman Lynn Wentworth said in a statement. “Following these discussions, our Board approved the amendment to the merger agreement. We believe the amended merger agreement is a result of a well-run sales process that allows our shareholders to realize higher value for their shares.”

Cincinnati Bell acquired Hawaiian Telcom in July 2018 for $650 million in stock and cash, making Hawaiian Telcom shareholders new owners of Cincinnati Bell stock. At the time the Hawaiian Telcom deal closed, Cincinnati Bell’s stock was trading at $15.70 a share. The shares later plunged to $7.72 before Brookfield made its first all-cash offer in December.

“We look forward to continuing to work to complete the closing of the merger with Brookfield,” Cincinnati Bell President and CEO Leigh Fox said in a statement. “We continue to be confident in the strategic and financial rationale of this transaction, as well as our ability to drive growth and maximize value for our shareholders. With Brookfield’s support, we look forward to enhancing our fiber network, driving long-term benefits for our customers.”

Earlier this month Cincinnati Bell reported that its losses narrowed in the fourth quarter to $23.2 million and to $77 million for the year. That is compared with losses of $32.6 million and $80.2 million, respectively, in the comparable year-earlier periods.

Cincinnati Bell’s revenue slipped 2% in the fourth quarter to $390.4 million and rose 12% for the year to $1.38 billion. Hawaiian Telcom accounted for $78 million of the revenue in the fourth quarter and $314 million for 2019.

Hawaiian Telcom, which has about 1,200 employees, has been heavily investing in its fiber-optic network to provide high-speed internet as well as video services through Hawaiian Telcom TV.