Message #57 From:
NewsBot Date: December 26, 2006 04:00:00 AM
SVVS News SAVVIS Hones Strategic Focus with Sale of CDN Services Business to Level 3 Communications
ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SAVVIS, Inc. (NASDAQ:SVVS), a global leader in IT infrastructure
services for business applications, today announced that it has entered
into a definitive agreement to sell its content delivery network (CDN)
services business to Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:LVLT) for $135
million in cash. Upon closing, the transaction is anticipated to result
in net proceeds to SAVVIS of approximately $125-130 million after fees,
expenses and taxes. The purchase price is subject to certain customary
post closing working capital adjustments. The transaction is expected to
close by the middle of the first quarter of 2007.
In March 2004, SAVVIS acquired substantially all of the assets of Cable
& Wireless America, which consisted primarily of data centers, a Tier1
Internet backbone, a professional services practice and managed security
business, and a content delivery network. Since then, SAVVIS has
integrated the assets and grown into one of the leading providers of
core IT infrastructure services focusing on hosting, data networks, data
security, and data storage.
Phil Koen, SAVVIS' Chief Executive Officer said, “SAVVIS
continues to hone its strategy of delivering IT infrastructure as a
service, and our customers are responding favorably. We are selling our
CDN services business with confidence that those customers will be best
served by Level 3’s commitment and focus as
they integrate CDN as a strategic piece of their business portfolio.
This sale, together with the planned opening of four new data centers
also announced today, will enable us to serve customers better and grow
our core hosting and managed network services, which include
professional services and security services, while creating value for
our stockholders.”
2007 Outlook
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Von Deylen commented, “SAVVIS’
core hosting and network services are helping change the way businesses
manage information technology. We continue to sharpen our focus on these
services as the drivers of our company’s
growth. Adjusted for the sale of the CDN services business and the
expansion of our data-center footprint, we believe SAVVIS can achieve
pro forma revenue growth of 10-13% and pro forma Adjusted EBITDA growth
of approximately 30% or better in 2007.”
SAVVIS management’s current expectations for
2007 financial results include:
-- Total revenue in a range of $815-835 million, including
-- the impact of the anticipated decline of revenue from
Reuters, SAVVIS' largest customer, to approximately $50-60
million in 2007, and
-- approximately $20 million of revenue impact from the sale
of the CDN services business;
-- Adjusted EBITDA in a range of $145-155 million, including
-- approximately $6 million of negative Adjusted EBITDA
impact for operating four new data centers, as detailed in
SAVVIS' press release today, as operating expenses proceed
customer revenues, and
-- approximately $4 million of Adjusted EBITDA impact from
the sale of the CDN services business; and
-- Cash capital expenditures of $340-350 million, including
$35-40 million for the network upgrade previously announced
and approximately $200 million for the data center expansion
announced today, with the remainder representing approximately
70% ongoing success-based investments and 30% maintenance
investments.
Funding for the data center expansion is expected to come from proceeds
from the sale of the CDN services business, available cash, and
available debt capacity.
Savvian Advisors LLC, the San Francisco-based investment bank, provided
financial advice to SAVVIS in conjunction with the transaction.
* Adjusted EBITDA
“Adjusted EBITDA”
represents income (loss) from operations before depreciation,
amortization, accretion and non-cash equity-based compensation. We have
included information concerning Adjusted EBITDA because we believe that
in our industry such information is a relevant measurement of a
company's operating financial performance and liquidity. The calculation
of Adjusted EBITDA is not specified by United States generally accepted
accounting principles. Our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be
comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may
differ materially from SAVVIS’ expectations.
Certain factors that could adversely affect actual results are set forth
as risk factors described in SAVVIS’SEC
reports and filings, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2005, and all subsequent filings. Those risk
factors include, but are not limited to, the risk that the transaction
will not close, the risk that the financial results projected for 2007
will be materially different from those set forth in this release,
variability in pricing for SAVVIS’ products,
highly competitive markets, rapid evolution of technology, variability
in the availability and terms of financing, uncertainties related to
merger and acquisition activity, changes in our operating environment,
and changes in regulatory environments. The forward-looking statements
contained in this document speak only as of the date of publication,
December 26, 2006. Subsequent events and developments may cause the
company’s forward-looking statements to
change, and the company will not undertake efforts to revise those
forward-looking statements to reflect events after this date.
AboutSAVVIS
SAVVIS, Inc. (NASDAQ: SVVS) is a global leader in IT infrastructure
services for business applications. With an IT services platform
spanning North America, Europe, and Asia, SAVVIS leads the industry in
delivering secure, reliable, and scalable hosting, network, and
application services. These solutions enable customers to focus on their
core business while SAVVIS ensures the quality of their IT systems and
operations. SAVVIS’ strategic approach
combines virtualization technology, a global network and 25 data
centers, and automated management and provisioning systems. For more
information about SAVVIS, visit www.savvis.net.