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Ogden Tel sale finalized
Ogden Tel sale finalized
Listen to this articleSome 17 months after reaching an agreement, Citizens Utilities completed its acquisition of Ogden Telephone Co. for $23.5 million. The deal closed Dec. 31.
The previously independent local telephone company based in Spencerport will continue to operate under the Ogden Telephone name, providing local and long-distance telephone service as part of Citizens Communications.
Ogden Telephone serves some 20,000 customers in Spencerport, Hilton and Ogden.
Citizens officials described the acquisition of Ogden Telephone as a “perfect fit.”
Citizens ranks as the seventh-largest independent telecommunications company in the United States. It has more than 300,000 customers in small markets throughout New York. The company focuses on small, local-telephone markets.
“This is an important addition to the Citizens family and to our growing operations in (the state),” said Leonard Tow, chairman and CEO of Citizens Utilities, the parent company based in Stamford, Conn.
The acquisition doubles Citizens’ employment here from 50 to 100 employees.
Until now, Citizens has resold local-telephone service from both Frontier Telephone of Rochester Inc. and Time Warner Communications. Its resale efforts focus on business customers.
Citizens has announced plans to market long-distance, cellular, Internet, satellite TV and local-telephone service nationally.
Holders of Ogden Telephone common stock will receive 18.5 shares of Citizens common stock for each share of Ogden Telephone stock.
“We are excited about the merger and believe it will provide new opportunities for Ogden’s stakeholders,” said Philip Evans, president of Ogden Telephone.
After months of negotiations with Frontier Corp., Ogden Telephone officials announced the deal on Aug. 1. The state Public Service Commission approved the deal in the fall.
