Status:  Clearance

Acquirer:  BC Partners (United Kingdom); Medina Capital (US); Longview Asset Management Ltd. (Canada)

Acquired:   CenturyLink, Inc. (US)

Value:  Approx. US$2.3 billion

Industry:  Technology Services; Network and Data Solutions

On November 4, 2016, CenturyLink, Inc. a Louisiana based global communications and IT services company with data centers in the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia, entered into an agreement with an investment consortium led by BC Partners and Medina Capital Advisors and including Longview Asset Management Ltd., to divest its data centers and colocation business in exchange for approximately $2.15 billion and a minority stake (valued at approximately $150 million) in the consortium’s newly formed global secure infrastructure company – currently operational as Cyxtera Technologies, Inc.(See CenturyLink Form 8-K, Nov. 7, 2016, SEC Filing.)  At the time, CenturyLink explained that the “BC Partners/Medina-led consortium will assume ownership of CenturyLink’s portfolio of 57 data centers at closing.” (CenturyLink Press Release, CenturyLink reaches agreement to sell data centers and colocation business to a consortium led by BC Partners and Medina Capital, CenturyLink Form 8-K, Ex-99.1, Nov. 7, 2016.)  The transaction was “subject to regulatory approvals, including filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, as well as other customary closing conditions.”  (Id.)

According to a transcript of a March 7, 2017, Internet and Telecom Conference Presentation with Deutsche Bank Media, the CenturyLink CFO responded to a question on the sale, noting that CFIUS review was pending, but the process was “taking a little bit longer” than expected. (Conference Transcript, CenturyLink Rule 425 Communications, Mar. 8, 2017, SEC Filing.)   The CFO stated that the CFIUS “deadline, I think, is April 15. So we still anticipate closing fairly soon.”  (Id.)  On May 1, 2017, the sale was completed.  (See CenturyLink Form 10-Q, Aug. 7, 2017, SEC Filing.)