Verizon to Spin Off Some Local Assets

[MaineDem]

NEW YORK (AP) - Telecom giant Verizon Communications Inc. said Tuesday it will spin off its local exchange assets in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont to shareholders, and then merge them into FairPoint Communications Inc., a Charlotte, N.C.-based telecommunications provider.

Verizon's local exchange assets in the three states will be transferred to entities owned by a newly created Verizon unit. That unit will incur $1.7 billion of new debt, be spun off to Verizon's stockholders and immediately merged with and into FairPoint.

When the deal is complete, the companies conducting the Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont telephone operations will be subsidiaries of FairPoint and will be managed by FairPoint's executive team. Verizon stockholders will own about 60 percent of the new company, and FairPoint stockholders will own the remainder.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.aspx?Feed=AP&Date=20070116&ID=6343063&Symbol=US:FRP

Damn!

[quispquake]

1. Wow...

I live in Liberty Maine, and we use Fairpoint. Service has been excellent (amazingly we get DSL out in Liberty!). Hopefully this expansion won't ruin the company...

[MaineDem]

2. I've heard good things about Fairpoint

As a retiree of Verizon I just worry about the health of the company sending me a check every month.

Ma Bell sure ain't what she used to be when I first starting working there.

[high density]

3. This has been rumbling for some time

I have no clue what FairPoint is... I just hope it doesn't screw up my DSL (which is not with Verizon but it goes over Verizon's lines.)

[On the Road]

4. I Was Kind of Shocked When I Saw This Today

All my state-level reporting will have to change. They keep messing with the footprint. At least they didn't sell it to the Carlyle Group like Hawaii.