WOW! evaluates private equity buyout offer

Englewood, Colo.-based cable operator WideOpenWest (WOW!) canceled the question-and-answer portion of its first-quarter earnings report Tuesday as part of a WOW! Board committee reviews unsolicited tender offer from private equity firms.

As announced Friday, DigitalBridge Investments LLC and “various Crestview entities” have made a cash offer to purchase all of the WOW! shares not already owned by Crestview for $4.80 per share.

The WOW! briefly soared more than 33% to $4.86 per share before stabilizing at around $4.64 on Tuesday.

For the first trimester, WOW! reported a 6.2% year-over-year decline in revenue to $161.5 million, with a net loss of $15 million.

“This decrease is primarily due to a change in the mix of service offerings, as we continue to see a reduction in video and telephony RGUs, coupled with a decrease in volume across all services,” WOW! said in his publication of results.

High-speed Internet connectivity sales actually increased 1%, to $106.2 million, and broadband customer losses narrowed to just 400 from 2,900 in the first quarter of last year.

“Our first quarter results represent a strong start to the year as we make further progress in our new markets and continually improve our historic footprint,” WOW! said CEO Teresa Elder. “The strong penetration rates across our business reinforce our conviction in our strategy and our confidence in our teams to continue to grow our business. »