Cincinnati Bell To Explore Alternatives For Data Center Business

Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE:CBB) today announced that its board of directors has authorized the company’s management to pursue the evaluation of structural, capital and financial alternatives for its growing Data Center business. The company will consider options that may include, among others, operating the Data Center business under the current structure with no changes, a partial separation through a sale, initial public offering, or other transaction, or, depending on the value to shareholders, a full separation. The evaluation of these alternatives will include an assessment of the structure that will optimize shareholder value while ultimately leaving Cincinnati Bell with an appropriate level of debt for its Communications business. This evaluation is expected to take 6 to 12 months.

“We expect our Data Center business to continue its significant growth, and the decision to consider structural, capital and financial alternatives demonstrates our commitment to maximizing this growth and maximizing value for our shareholders,” said Jack Cassidy, president and chief executive officer. “Our ultimate decision should highlight the value, strong performance, and growth prospects of our businesses while also focusing on opportunities to strengthen the balance sheet of Cincinnati Bell. While this process is underway, we will continue to execute on our existing strategies.”

The company’s Data Center business, operating under the name CyrusOne, was split into a separate legal entity in 2010 and has a distinct management team. CyrusOne specializes in enterprise data center colocation, offering the highest power redundancy (2N architecture) and power-density infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, and with 23 facilities across the United States, London and Singapore, CyrusOne has a reputation for providing excellent customer service. The company’s customers include 16 of the top global 100 companies and four of the top 10. CyrusOne is focused on becoming the preferred global data center provider to the Fortune 1000. In 2011, CyrusOne generated revenues of approximately $185 million.