Alltel Taken Over, Goes Private, Feeling Fine, A Little Dizzy

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It’s not MyFaves, but it’s close, right?

Not huge news, but good enough for a Monday morning. A band of equity investors have essentially “taken over” Alltell, paying $71.50 a share, $10 over its closing price last week. The result? The company essentially becomes private, pwned for $27.5 billion by companies like Goldman Sachs and the Texas Pacific Group.

What does this mean to you and me and Alltel’s subscribers? Not much. But it does mean a carrier with about 12 million subscribers — Sprint has about 50 million subscribers and T-Mobile has about 29 million, so 12 million is a drop in the bucket — is worth $27.5 billion.

Equity Firms to Buy Alltel in $27.5 Billion Deal [NYTimes]