Stonepeak to acquire Astound Broadband from TPG for $8.1bn
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Stonepeak to acquire Astound Broadband from TPG for $8.1bn

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Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners (Stonepeak), a private equity firm specializing in infrastructure investing, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Astound Broadband (Astound).

Stonepeak will acquire Astound, the sixth largest US cable operator, from TPG Capital and Patriot Media Management for $8.1 billion.

“We are delighted to partner with Steve, Jim and the Astound team for the next chapter of growth,” said Brian McMullen, partner at Stonepeak.

“Astound is the premier operator of critical broadband infrastructure in the United States with a long history of delivering market leading customer service and network performance to communities across the country. In our increasingly connected society, we believe there is an extraordinary opportunity to deliver faster speeds and greater coverage, fundamentally enabling many aspects of everyday life.”

Stonepeak is partnering with Patriot Media, which has a management team headed by Steve Simmons and Jim Holanda that currently manages Astound. The company is a broadband provider offering internet, entertainment, communications, connectivity and fibre infrastructure solutions for residential customers and businesses.

“We have created a market leading broadband platform with national reach, broad capabilities and expertise, and exciting growth potential,” said Jim Holanda, CEO.

“We are very eager and excited to partner with a premier investor such as Stonepeak to further accelerate our growth and take our companies to new levels of customer satisfaction and performance. We also want to thank TPG for their great support and partnership over the past four years.”

Under the terms of the partnership with Stonepeak, Patriot Media will continue to invest in the network and in technology, enabling the company to expand and grow its fibre rich infrastructure, deliver gigabit per second high-speed data services and create the premier internet experience in their markets.

“As we continue to grow our platform, our core objectives remain the same: to deliver exceptional service to our customers and communities, a best-in-class experience for our employees, and outstanding results for our investors,” said Steve Simmons, chairman of Patriot Media and member of the Cable Hall of Fame. “Our mission and management vision are aligned with Stonepeak and we very much look forward to our partnership with them.”

Stonepeak’s investment in Astound aligns with its strategy to partner leading management to support market leaders within digital infrastructure to enable growth through incremental capital investment.

“We’ve had a long-held theme and belief in the growing value of broadband infrastructure, culminating in our successful investment in Astound Broadband, in partnership with Patriot Media,” said David Trujillo, partner at TPG.

“We’re proud to have been part of the company’s journey, which has been characterized by significant platform expansion, strong growth and great leadership. We wish Steve, Jim and the outstanding Patriot management team well, as they continue to grow Astound in partnership with Stonepeak.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

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