Patriot Media to continue managing cable operator after $8.1B private-equity deal

Patriot Media Management, based in Princeton, will remain involved with Astound Broadband after the cable operator was acquired by private-equity firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners.

Stonepeak, based in New York, is paying San Francisco-based TPG Capital and Patriot Media $8.1 billion for Astound, the nation’s sixth-largest cable operator. Astound operates regional cable providers RCN, Grande, Wave and enTouch.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, pending customary conditions and approvals.

Patriot, which currently manages astound under the team led by Steve Simmons and Jim Holanda, will continue its management of the systems. The broadband provider offers internet, communications and other solutions to residential and commercial customers across the U.S.

“We are delighted to partner with Steve, Jim and the Astound team for the next chapter of growth,” Brian McMullen, a Stonepeak partner, said in a prepared statement. “Astound is the premier operator of critical broadband infrastructure in the United States, with a long history of delivering market-leading customer service and network performance to communities across the country.”

Patriot will continue to invest in its network and technology, it noted.

“We have created a market-leading broadband platform with national reach, broad capabilities and expertise, and exciting growth potential,” Holanda, Patriot’s CEO, said in a statement. “We are very eager and excited to partner with a premier investor such as Stonepeak to further accelerate our growth and take our companies to new levels of customer satisfaction and performance.

“We also want to thank TPG for their great support and partnership over the past four years.”

BofA Securities and Lazard are acting as Stonepeak’s financial advisers, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP is serving as its legal counsel. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are acting as Astound’s financial advisers, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Seyfarth Shaw LLP are serving as its legal counsel.