The ownership of telecommunications carrier Broadwing Communications has passed into new hands.
Corvis Corp., an optical networking equipment maker, and Cequel III, a telecommunications and cable management firm, said Friday they had closed the acquisition of Broadwing Communications.
The joint venture, C III Communications LLC, of which Corvis is the majority investor, has agreed to pay Broadwing $91 million for its network. C III also is purchasing a $17 million note.
The agreement is subject to some remaining state and local regulatory requirements.
Corvis will initially retain a 96 percent stake in C III and appoint four of six board members, according to a regulatory filing. Corvis said it continues to seek the possibility of other investors joining the venture.
Mark F. Spagnolo, a former chief executive of Flag Telecom and Metromedia Fiber Networks Inc., has been named interim CEO of Broadwing Communications. Spagnola has experience restructuring companies, managing data providers and serving enterprises, the companies said.
Broadwing, the owner of local phone company Cincinnati Bell, had initially reached an agreement to sell its national communications business for $129 million. Broadwing shed its broadband unit as part of a five-point restructuring plan geared to improve its financial condition.
