Savvis Finds a Buyer, and It’s CenturyLink!

April 27th, 2011 by · 2 Comments

Well, put me down as surprised – I didn’t think Savvis (news, filings) [a subsidiary of CenturyLink (NYSE:CTL, news, filings)] would actually sell.  But then, I didn’t think that CenturyLink (NYSE:CTL, news, filings) would offer $40 per share either, and that’s exactly what they did.  And thus we have a deal.  Today, CenturyLink agreed to purchase Savvis for approximately $2.5B in cash and stock, plus the assumption of net debt of about $650M. This follows much speculation over the past two quarters about the next big cloud M&A by a telecommunications company, in which Savvis has been the poster child.  Last fall, the company’s stock was trading at around $20, but it has risen steadily on a tide of speculation since and prior to this deal had been at $36.  So while the premium today is a mere 11%, it’s much better than that since all the hoopla started.

CenturyLink’s purchase comes on the heals of its recent completion of the Qwest deal, and looks a whole lot similar to Verizon’s purchase of Terremark and to a lesser extent the purchase of Navisite by TW Cable.  Of all the independent colocation providers, Savvis has been the most active in the managed services and cloud space with a big presence in the financial sector.  CenturyLink thus gains a leg up with a customer base it has never really targeted in its history as an ILEC, not to mention a rather large colocation footprint in the big markets.  The combined footprint consists of 48 datacenters and 1.9M square feet.

Savvis also comes along with a Tier 1 IP and fiber network that will surely be merged with the Qwest longhaul network.  Savvis hasn’t been investing in its network beyond serving its hosting and colocation clients for some time, and its presence as a Tier 1 IP transit network has waned over the years.  Their US fiber network is based on a few fibers on the Level 3 network that it inherited from Cable & Wireless America.  Those routes therefore will add diversity to the original Qwest longhaul footprint.

But what CenturyLink is really after, according to most, is that foot in the door with cloud services.  Last year, Savvis had a bit over $15M in revenues from the cloud, which is actually pretty good considering how young the area is.  But on a relative basis, the cloud part of all this is obviously for the future.  And on that front, everything remains foggy for all involved, IMHO, but what else is new.  CenturyLink will integrate Savvis with the rest of its hosting and colo operations into a combined unit based in St.Louis and headed by Savvis CEO Jim Ousley and other key members of Savvis’s management.

Savvis shareholders will get $30/share in cash plus $10/share in CenturyLink Stock.  CenturyLink anticipates finding $70M in annual run rate synergies.  The good news is that I think there probably won’t be major layoffs from this deal, as there isn’t all that much overlap on that front.

If you haven't already, please take our Reader Survey! Just 3 questions to help us better understand who is reading Telecom Ramblings so we can serve you better!

Categories: Datacenter · ILECs, PTTs · Mergers and Acquisitions

Join the Discussion!

2 Comments So Far


  • Bill A says:

    When you look at Glbc/lvlt and ctl this am, I believe that we are seeing the roll up of companies driven by the future of cdn/broadband rapid growth. Netflix started the change in the entertainment video space.
    Perhaps pricing power will make the space look financially attractive. Does anybody out there believe that demand/supply will stabilize for lvlt et al and create some profits?

  • Anon says:

    L3-GX deal is explained on the map. huge synergies. allows L3 to reach all continents and networks.

    This CenturyTel-USWest-Qwest-Saavis combo is, to me, much harder to explain… Qwest could have bought SVVS years ago if it made sense and why and RLEC wants to own 15 year old data centers (with a 15 year or shorter useful life) is a mystery

Leave a Comment

You may Log In to post a comment, or fill in the form to post anonymously.





  • Ramblings’ Jobs

    Post a Job - Just $99/30days
  • Event Calendar