Hargray Communications is up for sale

Just when you think the M&A wave has settled, it looks like Hargray Communications could be heading to the auction block with a price tag of $400 million.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, Hargray, which is currently owned by buyout firm Quadrangle Group LLC, apparently feels comfortable making this move after Bresnan Communications recently got snapped up by Cablevision.

Of course, neither Quadrangle nor Hargray, are talking about any deal.

Like many independent telcos, Hargray built a cable TV business to complement its landline service in the early 1980s. And while Hargray's size pales in comparison to Bresnan (it currently has 30,000 TV subscribers in southeastern South Carolina and Northeastern Georgia), the telco's traditional landline and cable assets could be attractive to either another cable or independent telco that wants to enhance their reach.

News of Hargray's potential deal comes amidst a flurry of M&A activity in the traditional wireline telecom and cable operator space. In addition to Cablevision buying Bresnan, Frontier and competitive provider Zayo have been active on the M&A front. Frontier (NYSE: FTR) just completed its acquisition of Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) rural lines in 14 states, while competitive service provider Zayo Group not only completed its acquisition of competitive fiber provider AGL Resources, but also made a bid to acquire American Fiber Systems.

For more:
- Wall Street Journal article covers this development (sub. req.)

Related articles:
Seller's market? Hargray Communications up for auction
Get ready to ride the new competitive consolidation wave