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Business Combinations, Asset Acquisitions and Dispositions
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Business Combinations [Abstract]  
Business Combinations, Asset Acquisitions and Dispositions

Note 5. Business Combinations, Asset Acquisitions and Dispositions

2019 Transactions

Bluebird Network, LLC

On August 30, 2019, the Company closed on its operating company/property company (“OpCo-PropCo”) transaction with Macquarie Infrastructure Partners (“MIP”) to acquire Bluebird Network, LLC (“Bluebird”). MIP operates within the Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets division of Macquarie Group.  Bluebird’s network consists of approximately 178,000 fiber strand miles in the Midwest across Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Oklahoma. In the transaction, Uniti purchased the Bluebird fiber network and MIP purchased the Bluebird operations. In addition, Uniti sold Uniti Fiber’s Midwest operations to MIP, while Uniti retains its existing Midwest fiber network. Uniti acquired the fiber network of Bluebird for $319 million, of which $175 million was funded by Uniti in cash and $144 million from pre-paid rent received from MIP at closing. The pre-paid rent is recorded within Deferred Revenue on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.  In connection with the sale of the Company’s Midwest operations, we received total upfront cash of approximately $37 million, including related pre-paid rent received from MIP at closing. Concurrently with the closing of these transactions, Uniti has leased the Bluebird fiber network and its Midwest fiber network on a combined basis to MIP, under a long-term triple net lease. The lease is reported within the results of our Leasing segment.  The Midwest operations that was sold to MIP was previously reported in our Fiber Infrastructure segment.

The acquisition of the Bluebird network was accounted for as an asset acquisition.  The following is a summary of the estimated fair values of the assets acquired:

 

 

(thousands)

 

Property, plant and equipment

 

$

141,583

 

Right of use asset

 

 

5,851

 

Intangible asset, net

 

 

171,556

 

Total purchase consideration

 

$

318,990

 

The right of use assets are recorded within Other Assets, net on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.  Of the $171.6 million of intangible assets acquired, $128.1 million is related to rights of way with an indefinite life, while $43.5 million is related to leasehold interests and have a life of 25 years.  

Upon the sale of our Midwest operations, we recognized an approximately $2.2 million net loss, which is recorded within Other (Income) Expense on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.  This loss included the allocation of approximately $2.2 million of goodwill.  See Note 9.

Sale of Ground Lease Portfolio

On May 23, 2019, the Company completed the sale of substantially all of its U.S. ground lease business.  During second quarter, we received cash consideration of $30.7 million resulting in a pre-tax gain of $5.0 million.  We sold an additional ground lease during the third quarter, receiving cash consideration of $2.9 million.

Sale of Latin American Tower Portfolio

On April 2, 2019, the Company completed the sale of the Uniti Towers’ Latin America business (“LATAM”) to an entity controlled by Phoenix Towers International for cash consideration of $101.6 million resulting in a pre-tax gain of $23.8 million.

JKM Consulting Inc. (M2 Connections)

On March 25, 2019, we acquired 100% of the outstanding equity of JKM Consulting Inc. d/b/a M2 Connections (“M2”) for cash consideration of $5.5 million. M2 is a dark fiber and internet access provider primarily to educational institutions in Alabama. This acquisition strengthens Uniti Fiber’s relationships with new E-Rate customers.  The acquisition was recorded by allocating the costs of the assets acquired based on their estimated fair values at the acquisition date. The excess of the cost of the acquisition over the fair value of the assets acquired is recorded as goodwill of $1.7 million within our Fiber Infrastructure segment. See Note 12. For federal income tax purposes, the transaction was treated as a taxable acquisition. Thus, all of the goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes. The financial results of M2 are included in the Fiber Infrastructure segment from the date of acquisition and were not

material, individually or in the aggregate, to our results of operations and therefore, pro forma financial information has not been presented.

2018 Transactions

Information Transport Solutions, Inc.

On October 19, 2018, we acquired 100% of the outstanding equity of Information Transport Solutions, Inc. (“ITS”) for cash consideration of $58.3 million. ITS is a full-service managed services provider of technology solutions, primarily to educational institutions in Alabama and Florida. This acquisition expands Uniti Fiber’s product offerings and strengthens relationships with new and existing E-Rate customers.  The acquisition was recorded by allocating the costs of the assets acquired based on their estimated fair values at the acquisition date. The excess of the cost of the acquisition over the fair value of the assets acquired is recorded as goodwill within our Fiber Infrastructure segment. See Note 12. During the first quarter of 2019, certain contractual working capital adjustments resulted in a $1.3 million reduction of the purchase price and goodwill. The following is a summary of the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed:

 

 

 

(thousands)

 

Property, plant and equipment

 

$

4,270

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

 

5,931

 

Accounts receivable

 

 

3,909

 

Other assets

 

 

7,238

 

Goodwill

 

 

9,941

 

Intangible assets

 

 

30,254

 

Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities

 

 

(2,645

)

Deferred revenue

 

 

(567

)

Total purchase consideration

 

$

58,331

 

 

The goodwill arising from the transaction is primarily attributable to strategic opportunities that arose from the acquisition of ITS, including strengthening relationships with new and existing E-Rate customers and anticipated incremental sales and cost savings. For federal income tax purposes, the transaction was treated as a taxable acquisition. Thus, all of the goodwill is expected to be deductible for tax purposes.

We acquired an intangible asset that was assigned to customer relationships of $30.3 million (14 year life). The Company determined the useful life for the customer relationship by applying an income approach (using the multi-period excess earnings method with a discount rate commensurate to the risk of the asset) and resulted from two key considerations: attrition rate and cumulative present value of cash flows, including assessing the period over which the asset is expected to contribute to the Company’s future cash flows.