Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners is holding talks to buy out WideOpenWest (NYSE:WOW), the sixth largest cable operator in the United States.
The talks are still ongoing and there are no guarantees that an agreement will be reached, according to Bloomberg.
Shares of WideOpenWest surged roughly 37% since Bloomberg first reported the news last month, and the company’s market capitalization stood at $1.6 billion as of Friday’s close.
Crestview Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, currently holds the largest stake in the cable operator at 36%. Crestview first backed WideOpenWest in 2015, when it purchased a stake from Avista Capital Partners and other investors.
Founded in 1996, WideOpenWest’s network passes more than 3.2 million homes in the U.S., providing a range of services including landline telephone, cable television, and broadband internet across several states in the country.
In October, Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure investment arm acquired healthcare clinical services provider SpecialtyCare and is also a co-owner of fiber-based bandwidth technology platform Lightpath.
WOW stock is up over 12% today.
By Senad Karaahmetovic