Broadwing, Inc., sold more than 25 percent of its stock in optical component maker Corvis Corp., for $43 million, officials announced at an investors meeting recently.
The announcement comes just five months after the national all-fiber optic provider spent $44 million to get a more than eight million shares in Corvis.
Officials said the deal frees up money to reinvest in its network, and still leaves them with about 5.5 million shares in Corvis. Broadwing officials said it has been selling the shares piecemeal since the middle of January.
Kevin Mooney, Broadwing executive vice president and chief financial officer, said that although his company is reducing its role in Corvis, it doesn’t mean the company won’t figure prominently in future network rollouts.
“We are very committed to our strategic partnership with Corvis and are big believers in the enabling power of their breakthrough technology,” Mooney said. “The proceeds of this sale will be used for further investment in our industry leading intelligent, optical network.”
The company is still under contract for roughly $200 million in optical switching and signal regeneration equipment.
Broadwing has embarked on an ambitious network buildout with the endgoal of a globe-spanning network run on its all fiber network.
The backbone provider last week announced it had completed the first ring in its global deployment, which wraps up the eastern ring of its 18,500-mile OC 48 bandwidth pipe. The company also has a significant nationwide OC 192 presence.
Broadwing is the marriage of local phone company Cincinnati Bell and IXC Communications, Inc., in July of 1999. After the Baby Bell bought out Internet provider company, it renamed itself Broadwing and moved its offices to Austin, TX. Cincinnati Bell still provides local phone service in the Ohio region.
Cincinnati Bell recently merged its separate businesses to streamline operations, officials said. The move incurred a one-time charge of $10 million and a reduction of three percent of its work force.
