Capacity reported two weeks ago that Zayo had received a bid from an unnamed private equity investor valuing the company at $8 billion, offering more than $30 a share, well above the then current share price of $25.70. Since then the price has dropped to $27.28, giving the company a market cap of $6.45 billion.
Last week the Bloomberg agency reported increased interest in the carrier, which is planning to demerge its services arm from its infrastructure business.
Bloomberg named both Alphabet and CenturyLink as possible bidders, but other names have included Blackstone and KKR, as well as I Squared Capital (ISQ), the private equity business that owns HGC Global Communications and is a potential bidder for Global Cloud Xchange.
Now analyst Nick Del Deo of MoffettNathanson is being quoted as saying “Google would probably face regulatory issues in trying to buy Zayo, and in any case has been able to build its network by leasing rather than construction or acquisition”. Del Deo is saying that “CenturyLink would be a more logical partner”.
