ShenTel Buys nTelos, Cuts Deal With Sprint

The proposed deal is not expected to have any impact on Ntelos’ previously announced plans to shutter its “eastern” operations, which is still expected to be completed by November.

After taking into account the payments from Sprint for the exchange of certain assets, ShenTel net consideration of the nTelos acquisition will be $330 million.

Sprint also said it plans convert its approximately 291,000 customers in the Shentel markets to “Sprint-branded affiliate customers” with 8,000 Ntelos customers “converted into Sprint-branded retail customers”. With the close of this deal, Shentel will be positioned as one of the top six public wireless providers in the United States. We are very appreciative of the loyalty of our customers and proud of the dedication of our employees to the NTELOS brand. Ntelos provided regional Sprint customers with their connectivity and used Sprint’s network outside of the region to service its customers.

Shentel also set up a website, found here, to provide customers with update information about the upcoming changes.

NTELOS shareholders will receive about $208 million in cash, or $9.25 per share.

The investigation concerns whether the NTELOS board failed to satisfy its duties to the Company’s shareholders, including whether the board adequately pursued alternatives to the acquisition and whether the board obtained the best price possible for the Company’s shares of common stock.

Waynesboro-based nTelos serves portions of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Shentel will terminate the existing network wholesale agreements between Sprint and Ntelos, has pledged to continue LTE upgrades to the Ntelos network and expand coverage with at least an additional 150 sites over the next three years, using spectrum acquired by Sprint and made available to Shentel as part of the transaction. Shentel will also be able to utilize Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum within its footprint.

“This is an exciting time for all of the members of the Shentel team”, said Christopher E. French, President and CEO of Shentel in a release.

In a separate release, Shentel said it will pick up about 298,000 Ntelos subscribers, giving it more than 1 million wireless customers overall. NTelos had wanted to focus on markets in western Virginia and West Virginia where it has a stronger retail presence and benefits from its network deal with Sprint.

Sprint expects the transaction to have a positive impact on EBITDA in the first year following the close of the agreement.