WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) Tuesday announced a definitive agreement to sell FiberNet Holdings LLC and its subsidiaries to Crown Castle International Corp. (CCI) for $1.5 billion in cash. FiberNet is a provider of end-to-end bandwidth infrastructure services specializing in fiber-optic network solutions
The transaction is expected to be accretive to NextEra Energy earnings immediately upon closing. The company said the impact of the gain on the sale at the time of closing will be excluded from adjusted earnings.
In the first year of Crown Castle's ownership, the transaction is expected to contribute approximately $105 to $110 million to gross margin and approximately $15 to $20 million of general and administrative expenses.
The deal is projected to be completed in the first half of 2017. Pro forma for the proposed acquisition, Crown Castle will own or have rights to approximately 28,500 route miles of fiber.
NextEra expects to use a portion of the sale proceeds to retire approximately $370 million principal amount of FiberNet long-term debt.
UBS Investment Bank is serving as financial advisor to NextEra Energy and Hogan Lovells is serving as legal counsel.
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