AT&T (NYSE: T) has reached an agreement to acquire substantially all of Lumen Technologies’ (NYSE: LMN) Mass Markets fiber internet connectivity business for $5.75 billion, subject to purchase price adjustments, in an all-cash transaction.
The sale encompasses roughly 1 million fiber-to-the-home customers, according to the companies, and access to more than 4 million fiber locations across 11 states, including key metro markets like Denver, Las Vegas, and Seattle.
“As we advance our fiber build, we’ll serve more communities with world-class connectivity and expect to roughly double where AT&T Fiber is available by the end of 2030,” said John Stankey, Chairman and CEO, AT&T. The company projects expanding availability to about 60 million locations by 2030, up from current levels of around 30 million. Stankey emphasized the strategic importance of bundling high-speed fiber with wireless services, calling it a “race to connect more Americans with fiber” and highlighting the anticipated boost to jobs and economic activity in the newly acquired regions, reported Reuters.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2026, pending regulatory review, and will transition subscriber assets into a newly formed AT&T subsidiary, ‘NetworkCo.’ It is expected that along with the fiber assets, certain employees will move, or receive offers to move, from Lumen to AT&T or NetworkCo as a part of this deal.
Lumen’s enterprise fiber customers and Mass Markets copper-based customers as well as the associated assets to support them are not part of this agreement. After closing the transaction with Lumen, AT&T plans to sell partial ownership of NetworkCo to an equity partner that will co-invest in the ongoing business. AT&T expects to identify an equity partner and close a transaction within approximately 6-12 months of closing the transaction with Lumen.
Lumen said it intends to channel the $4.2 billion net proceeds to reduce debt by $4.8 billion. The transaction is expected to reduce Lumen’s Mass Markets fiber-related capital expenditures by approximately $1 billion annually, enhancing cash flow and enabling Lumen to accelerate investments in its enterprise offerings.
AT&T reiterates full-year 2025 financial and operational guidance and share repurchase plans.
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