I was just thinking about how little scrutiny the soon-to-be completed merger between Hawaiian Telcom and Cincinnati Bell has gotten since it was announced in the middle of 2017.
What got me thinking was a little news blurb last week when Cincinnati Bell was flagged as one of the week’s biggest stock market losers, down 12.71%.
Reuters reported the company’s stock fell 8.8% in just one day, the most in nearly two years. Reuters comment on the January 5 fall–“no clear reason.”
So I’m curious, given that Cincinnati Bell is soon to be in control of one of our state’s major companies.
Not a peep in the Star-Advertiser that I could find. And when I searched the S-A archive, there was little reporting at all to be found about the merger over the past six months beyond the basics.
It’s not like Cincinnati Bell has really deep pockets. The company is larger than Hawaiian Telcom, but still considered a “micro cap” with a total capitalization (the total value of its stock) of under $1 billion.
On the other hand, Hawaiian Telcom is a significant local company. It’s ranked as the 6th largest Hawaii-based publicly traded company, is among the top 25 employers in the state, and is the second-largest internet service provider with over 112,000 customers.
I’m curious about the deal and what it means. But it doesn’t seem like many others share that interest, including local media.
Perhaps that’s just reflective of the sad state of business reporting today.
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It was Hawaiian Tel for so long, then a series of ownerships before coming back home. I remember protesting against Carlyle Group. I think people DO care, but maybe overwhelmed. Plus, this is where media plays a part. If no one is reporting on it, no one is thinking about it, or even knows about it. So thanks for the reminder. Hope more comes out on this.
Interesting to note when people couldn’t get through with their cell phones the landlines were working.
sorry, I meant to add during Saturday’s debacle.
Like Verizon I think that Cincinnati Bell will discover that it is not an easy thing to run a subsidiary that is five, sometimes six, time zones away. Not to mention the differences in terrain, culture, weather and logistics.
My prediction is that the merger will last five years, max before CB bails.