Lumen Technologies, the telecommunications company formerly known as CenturyLink, is in negotiations with the investment management firm Apollo Global Management, to discuss a sale of its consumer business. The deal could include the company’s consumer business in specific US states and may be valued at more than $5 billion.
In a report published by Bloomberg on Tuesday, people familiar with the matter confirmed that the talks were happening.
The company has not commented on specific rumours but has spoken to some publications, saying that it is ‘excited’ about the future of its consumer business.
An embattled Lumen
It is an open secret that Lumen Technologies has been considering a sale to boost revenues, which were not doing too well even before the pandemic began. The company’s CEO, Jeff Storey, spoke to investors in May. He said that Lumen was not satisfied with its Q1 2021 earnings and that it was considering divestitures of non-core assets to spur growth.
He said that management recognizes that change for the customers means the core assets were driving growth. He added, however, that the company was willing to talk about opportunities and changes for non-core offerings.
Redux
This is not the first time that the service provider has mentioned that it is looking to shop around some of its assets. CenturyLink in 2019 said it was evaluating ‘strategic alternatives’ for its consumer business, as it generated about three-quarters of revenue from business customers.
Lumen, however, only generated 71% of its revenue from business services in its most recent quarter, which ended March 31.
The segment has been stretched in the last few quarters because of plummeting small and mid-size businesses’ revenue, as well as the impact of the pandemic on business buying trends. The deal could be a way for it to refocus on divestitures and spark growth.
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