By Milana Vinn
(Reuters) -AT&T has clinched a deal to acquire Lumen Technologies’ consumer fiber operations for $5.75 billion in cash, the companies said on Wednesday, as the wireless provider adds further scale to its national fiber footprint.
Buying the unit will gain AT&T 1 million fiber customers, as well as significantly expand its fiber-network operations in Denver, Las Vegas, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City and Seattle, according to an AT&T statement.
The sale of its consumer fiber assets, first reported by Reuters, allows Lumen to focus on growing the company’s enterprise fiber business, Chris Stansbury, Chief Financial Officer of Lumen, told Reuters in an interview.
The cash proceeds from the sale will help Lumen trim its debt pile by $4.8 billion and enhance cash flow by reducing interest expenses by more than $300 million annually, according to Stansbury.
(Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York)
