Cable provider WOW! going private again after a tough run as a public company

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Denver-Based Cable Company WOW! Agrees to $1.5 Billion Buyout Offer

WideOpenWest Inc., a Denver-based cable company and broadband provider, announced on Monday that it has accepted a buyout offer from its largest investor and a private equity firm, valuing the company at $1.5 billion.

DigitalBridge Investments LLC and Crestview Partners, who own 37% of WOW!’s shares, have offered to pay $5.20 per share in cash for the remaining equity in the company. This represents a 63% premium to the company’s stock market value as of Friday.

Following the announcement, WOW! shares surged 6.9% to $3.41 and continued to rise to over $5 per share in after-hours trading, marking a 50% gain.

Founded by cable industry veteran Jeffrey Marcus in 1999, WOW! went public in 2017 at $17 per share, raising $310 million. However, the stock price struggled to meet expectations until mid-2021, and as of Monday, shares were down 80% from the IPO price.

CEO Teresa Elder leads WOW!, with Marcus serving as the executive chairman. The transaction is expected to benefit WOW!’s 2 million residential and business customers, with plans to invest in network expansion and technology upgrades.

The buyout is set to be completed later this year or early next year, pending approvals. Following the acquisition, WOW! will relinquish its exclamatory ticker symbol, WOW.

As the eighth-largest cable provider in the U.S., WOW! had approximately 1,320 employees at the end of last year, with 28 based at its Denver headquarters. Despite its Colorado roots, the company does not serve cable customers in the state.