NuVox deal now complete

By John Boyanoski  

FEBRUARY 8, 2010 2:51 p.m. (0)

The men who turned NuVox into one of Greenville’s biggest companies will not remain with the firm following its acquisition by Arkansas-based Windstream

The $647 million sale was completed Monday morning.

According to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, chief executive officer Jim Akerhielm, chairman and chief financial officer David Solomon, strategic markets president Mike Gallagher, executive vice president of operations Paul Pitts, executive vice president of service delivery Matt Blocha and general counsel/secretary Riley Murphy are leaving the company.

Read the president's statement to the SEC

“With this transaction, NuVox is becoming part of a company that can extend our vision of being the market leader in delivering communications solutions to business customers. That will mean more change, but I know the new company is solid and poised for growth,” Akerhielm wrote in a letter to employees dated Jan. 7 and was part of the SEC filings.

Akerhielm thanked the close to 1,700 NuVox employees for their hard work.

Windstream issued roughly 18.7 million shares of its common stock that was worth $187 million to help complete the deal. The company paid $280 million cash as well.

That cash money came from proceeds from Windstream’s December debt offering.

The deal gives Windstream roughly 90,000 business customers in 16 states located in the South and Midwest.

Jack Norris, who served as NuVox’s chief operating officers will remain with Windstream as senior vice president of service delivery and operations and stay in Greenville.

NuVox generated $565 million in revenue and $115 million in operating income in the twelve months ending Sept. 30, 2009.

The company has 700 employees in the Upstate including many who work in offices downtown. It is not clear how many of those jobs will be moved to elsewhere in the Windstream company.

NuVox was started in 1998 as TriVergent and provides telephone and IP networks for businesses. By 2004 it was known New South and merged with Nuvox, which was then based in St. Louis.