Apollo Completes $7.5 Billion Acquisition of Lumen Technologies’ Telecom Platform, Creating Brightspeed

Paul, Weiss advised funds managed by Apollo Global Management, Inc. affiliates in their $7.5 billion acquisition of incumbent local exchange carrier assets and associated operations in 20 states from Lumen Technologies, a Louisiana-based telecommunications company. The acquired assets, now known as Brightspeed, include a robust, scaled local fiber and copper network, voice and broadband services, as well as back-office support. The transaction, announced in August 2021 and completed on October 3, 2022, makes Brightspeed the nation’s fifth-largest incumbent local exchange carrier, with a service territory encompassing more than 6.5 million locations across the Midwest, Southeast, and parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Brightspeed’s planned investment of at least $2 billion in its fiber network transformation will bring faster and more reliable internet service to more than 3 million homes and businesses over the next five years, primarily targeting locations where fiber and advanced technology have not historically been deployed.

The Paul, Weiss team included, among others, M&A, finance and funds partners Ross Fieldston, Gregory Ezring, Brad Finkelstein, Brian Janson, Danielle Penhall, Mark Wlazlo and Matthew Goldstein, and counsel Andrea Quek and Jason Tyler; tax partners Brad Okun and Brian Grieve, and counsel Sohail Itani; intellectual property partner Charles Googe; executive compensation partner Jean McLoughlin and counsel Jake Glazeski and Meghan Fox; litigation partner Andrew Ehrlich; real estate partner Salvatore Gogliormella; and antitrust counsel Yuni Sobel.