Zayo Buys AboveNet

Peter : On Rad's Radar?
Peter
| Peter Radizeski of RAD-INFO, Inc. talking telecom, Cloud, VoIP, CLEC, and The Channel.

Zayo Buys AboveNet

It was a big surprise this morning to hear that Zayo bought AboveNet for $2.2B. My first thought was "Where did Zayo get the money?" I mean, the Dealbook writes, "As of Dec. 31, Zayo had about $25.9 million in cash and short-term investments, along with $682.7 million in long-term debt. It currently has a credit rating of B2." Apparently, Zayo backers and bankers went into their reserves to buy AboveNet. I guess the heady days of Bain LBO is back, thanks Mitt! (LBO is leveraged buy out).

AboveNet was one of the few fiber shops that had its act together. They know where their fiber is. They can quote it fast. They can deliver on what's quoted. And they knew their sweet spot. Except for US Carrier and FiberLight, no other fiber CLEC's that I have dealt with can say that. (I'm waiting over 6 weeks for quotes and maps from IFN and L3.)

This will be Zayo's 21st acquisition. I hope the integration goes well, because in the past Zayo has had issues with their knowledge of fiber assets. It has improved. Google earth!!

Zayo doesn't sell via the Channel - direct sales only. Via email from Dan Caruso, when asked about the Channel this morning, "I am sure we will be supportive of efforts Abovenet has underway."

Rob Powell likes this deal, even at 9.2x projected 2012 EBITDA. I think scale for scales sake is the problem with telecom. Mounting debt combined with shrinking prices does not make for a healthy business. Zayo and Level3 are buying up a lot of the competition, but that hasn't really increased pricing because Cogent and resellers are still there dropping their pants to win any revenue. And the ILECs are in a price war with the cablecos.

I mainly sell transit and transport. Fiber companies are my bread and butter. It is certainly easier to just check a single fiber map, as opposed to a number of them. Here's hoping for a smooth integration.

DEBT

The debt in this industry is crazy. AT&T and VZ combined have $105 Billion in debt. The top 5 MSO's have about $100B with Comcast at $40B. Level3 is at $8.5B. WIND has $9B. CenturyLink has $22B. When you are paying 7.75% on those notes, that's big bucks! Zayo already had $682.7 million in long-term debt; now it will have about $2.9 Billion in debt on approximately $900 million in annual revenue.

I still think that taking Cogent out would be a good move for L3 or someone. You get fiber, revenue, lit buildings and take the low priced carrier out of the market. It did take almost a year for AboveNet's investors to sell, so maybe in 3Q or 4Q. Most buyers - L3, CTL, WIND - have already bought something and are still refinancing debt as well as integrating what they bought.

For the Channel, this mounting debt is scary. Why? Because the CFO looks at the line item for commissions that grows every quarter. He wonders why he has to keep paying it, The CFO thinks, "If I wipe that line item out, our books look great." That's the scary part.



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