Paetec acquiring McLeodUSA for $557 million

CLEC consolidation continues, and Paetec Holding Corp., a Fairport, N.Y.-based CLEC, continues to do its fair share of the consolidating. The company acquired U.S. LEC earlier this year, and has now agreed to acquire Des Moines, Iowa-based McLeodUSA in an all-stick transaction worth about $557 million.

McLeodUSA was an early CLEC star, and has been on the comeback trail since a 2005 bankruptcy. By combining with Paetec, the companies can create a super-regional CLEC to compete with much broader operators than either of the individual firms have been able to challenge in the past.

For more:
- Telephony has the breaking story and background