Little Rock, Ark. – Alltel Corp., owner of the nation’s largest cellphone network, said Sunday that it had agreed to a buyout by a pair of investment firms in a deal worth about $27.5 billion that must still be approved by the company’s shareholders.
The company announced it had signed an agreement to be acquired by TPG Capital, formerly Texas Pacific Group, and GS Capital Partners.
The agreement calls for the two firms to acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Alltel for $71.50 a share in cash.
According to Alltel, that represents a 23 percent premium over Alltel’s share price before word of a possible buyout first appeared in the media Dec. 29.
Trading in Alltel’s stock closed Friday at $65.21, down 14 cents from the day before. The $71.50-a-share buyout price would represent a premium of only about 10 percent over Friday’s share price.
The deal, if approved by shareholders and regulators, is expected to close during the fourth quarter of this year or the first three months of 2008, Alltel said.
