FairPoint Comm sinks to 52-week low after closing merger with Northern New England Spinco
Shares of FairPoint Communications, Inc. (NYSE:FRP) sunk to a 52-week today after the communications services provider’s announcement that it closed its previously publicized merger with Northern New England Spinco Inc., which owned Verizon Communications' landline and related operations in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Shares of FairPoint sputtered 19%, or $1.92, to a 52-week low of $8.34 at 11:50 a.m. ET. Shares of FairPoint have been trading in the range of $8.55 to $19.83 for the past 52 weeks.
In connection with the merger, Spinco paid Verizon a $1.16 billion cash payment and $551 million of 13 1/8% senior notes due in 2018 that were issued by Spinco. FairPoint now holds total senior secured debt of $1.64 billion and $551 million of senior notes.
Additionally, FairPoint forked over 54 million shares of common stock to Verizon, resulting in 89 million shares outstanding for FairPoint.
As a result of the closed transaction, FairPoint is now the eighth largest telephone company in the United States. On a combined pro forma basis FairPoint said as of December 31, 2007, it has approximately 1.9 million total access line equivalents, including 1.11 million residential voice access lines; 0.51 million business voice access lines and 0.29 million HSD subscribers, including DSL, cable modem and wireless broadband.
For detailed price information and recent news stories about FairPoint Communications, click FRP.
