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Nature of Operations
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Nature of Operations Nature of Operations
Shenandoah Telecommunications Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Shentel”, “we”, “our”, “us”, or the “Company”) provide broadband data, video and voice services to residential and commercial customers in portions of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Delaware, Ohio and Indiana, via fiber optic and hybrid fiber coaxial cable networks. We also lease dark fiber and provide Ethernet and Wavelength fiber optic services to enterprise and wholesale customers throughout the entirety of our service area. Shentel’s Broadband business also provides voice and DSL telephone services as a Rural Local Exchange Carrier (“RLEC”) to customers in Shenandoah County and portions of adjacent counties in Virginia, and in Ross County and portions of adjacent counties in Ohio. These integrated networks are connected by a fiber network.

Horizon Transaction

On April 1, 2024 (the “Closing Date”), Shentel completed its previously announced acquisition of Horizon Acquisition Parent LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Horizon”), pursuant to the terms of an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated October 24, 2023, by and among Shentel, Horizon, the sellers set forth on the signature pages thereto (each, a “Seller” and collectively, the “Sellers”) and the other parties thereto (as amended by the First Amendment to Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated April 1, 2024, the “Merger Agreement”). Subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, on the Closing Date, Shentel acquired 100% of the outstanding equity interests of Horizon in exchange for (i) issuing 4,100,375 shares of Shentel’s common stock, no par value (“Common Stock”), to an investment fund managed by affiliates of GCM Grosvenor, which is one of the Sellers (the “Selling Shareholder”); and (ii) paying $347 million which consisted of cash consideration to the other Sellers and certain third parties, including Horizon’s existing lenders to discharge debt, and payments for working capital adjustments and reimbursement of capital expenditures incurred by the Sellers, subject to post-closing adjustments. The Selling Shareholder agreed to an investor rights agreement with the Company, pursuant to which, as long as the Selling Shareholder beneficially owns at least 5.0% of Shentel’s outstanding Common Stock, the Selling Shareholder has the right to nominate a director to Shentel’s Board and is subject to certain standstill provisions and voting covenants. The Selling Shareholder is also subject to a one year lockup period for the shares of Common Stock received.

Horizon is a leading commercial fiber provider in Ohio and adjacent states serving national wireless providers, carriers, enterprises, and government, education and healthcare customers. The acquisition of Horizon will allow Shentel to advance its fiber expansion strategy by doubling the size of the Company’s commercial fiber business and adding new expansion markets for its Glo Fiber business.

Refer to Note 3, Acquisition of Horizon, for more information regarding the Horizon Transaction and its impact on the Company’s financial statements.

Series A Preferred Stock

Contemporaneously with the execution of the Merger Agreement, on October 24, 2023, Shentel and Shentel Broadband Holding Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shentel (“Shentel Broadband”), entered into an investment agreement (the “Investment Agreement”) with ECP Fiber Holdings, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“ECP Investor”), and, solely for the limited purposes set forth therein, Hill City Holdings, LP, a Delaware limited partnership affiliated with ECP Investor. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Investment Agreement, on the Closing Date, Shentel Broadband issued to ECP Investor 81,000 shares of Shentel Broadband’s 7% Series A Participating Exchangeable Perpetual Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Series A Preferred Stock”), at a purchase price of $1,000 per share in exchange for $81 million in cash. The Series A Preferred Stock is exchangeable at the option of the Investor in certain circumstances for shares of Common Stock at an exchange price of $24.50 per share (as it may be adjusted pursuant to the terms of the Investment Agreement, the “Exchange Price”).

As a condition to closing the transactions contemplated by the Investment Agreement and Amendment No. 3 to the Credit Agreement, Shentel completed a corporate reorganization of Shentel’s subsidiaries (the “Reorganization”). As a result of the Reorganization effected on the Closing Date, Shentel Broadband Operations LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shentel Broadband, holds or has equity interest in substantially all of the operating assets of Shentel and was assigned and assumed the Credit Agreement.
On the Closing Date, Shentel Broadband filed a certificate of designations with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware authorizing 100,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock and setting forth the powers, designations, preferences, rights, qualifications, limitations and restrictions of the Series A Preferred Stock (the “Certificate of Designations”). The Series A Preferred Stock ranks senior to Shentel’s Common Stock with respect to the payment of dividends and with respect to the distribution of assets upon Shentel Broadband’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up. Dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock accrue at 7% per annum compounded and payable quarterly in arrears and, at Shentel’s option, may be paid in cash or in kind (such dividends paid in kind, “PIK Dividends”). The PIK Dividend rate is subject to increase to 8.5% and 10% after the fifth and seventh anniversaries of the Closing Date, respectively, to the extent any dividends accrued during the period from and including such anniversary dates are paid in the form of PIK Dividends.

Beginning two years after the Closing Date, Shentel may require the Investor to exchange the Series A Preferred Stock for shares of Common Stock if the price per share of the Common Stock exceeds 125% of the Exchange Price, subject to certain conditions. After five years, Shentel may redeem all of the Series A Preferred Stock for the greater of (i) $1,000 per share, plus (a) any accrued PIK Dividend amount and (b) accrued and unpaid dividends to, but excluding the redemption date (to the extent such accrued and unpaid dividends are not included in such PIK Dividend amount), and (ii) the value of the shares of Common Stock for which such Series A Preferred Stock are exchangeable.

Under the terms of the Investment Agreement, the Investor has the right to nominate a director to the Board so long as the Investor beneficially owns at least 7.5% of Shentel’s outstanding Common Stock (including on an as exchanged basis with respect to the Series A Preferred Stock).

So long as the Investor beneficially owns at least 7.5% of Shentel’s outstanding Common Stock (including on an as exchanged basis with respect to the Series A Preferred Stock), the Investor is subject to certain standstill provisions and voting covenants and has certain other rights with respect to the shares of Series A Preferred Stock, including, among others, pre-emptive, information and participation rights. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock are subject to a lock-up until the first anniversary of the Closing Date and are subject to certain other transfer restrictions.

Refer to Note 13, Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest, for more information regarding the Series A Preferred Stock and its impact on the Company’s financial statements.

Amendment No. 3 to Credit Agreement

On April 1, 2024, Shentel entered into Amendment No. 3 to Credit Agreement, Incremental Term Loan Funding Agreement, Joinder and Assignment and Assumption (the “Third Amendment”) to its existing Credit Agreement, dated as of July 1, 2021, with various financial institutions party thereto (the “Lenders”) and CoBank, ACB, as administrative agents for the Lenders (as previously amended by Amendment No. 1 to Credit Agreement, dated as of May 17, 2023, and Consent and Amendment No. 2 to Credit Agreement, dated October 24, 2023, the “Credit Agreement”).

The Third Amendment provides for, among other things, incremental delay draw term loan commitments under the Credit Agreement in an aggregate amount equal to $225 million and an increase in the revolving commitment under the Credit Agreement in an amount equal to $50 million.

Refer to Note 10, Debt , for more information regarding the Credit Agreement.

Sale of Shentel’s Tower Portfolio

On March 29, 2024, Shenandoah Mobile, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shenandoah Telecommunications Company, completed the initial closing of its previously disclosed sale of substantially all of Shentel’s tower portfolio and operations (“Tower Portfolio”) to Vertical Bridge Holdco, LLC (Vertical Bridge) for $309.9 million (the “Tower Transaction”). The Company received $305.8 million, net of certain transaction costs at the time of the initial closing. At the initial close, the Company conveyed sites representing approximately 99.5% of the tower portfolio value. The Company expects to convey certain remaining tower sites to Vertical Bridge by the end of March 2025 that will represent 99.9% of the tower portfolio value. The Tower Transaction was completed pursuant to the terms of a Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated February 29, 2024, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated March 29, 2024.

The Tower Portfolio represented substantially all of the assets and operations in Shentel’s previously reported Tower Reporting Segment and the Tower Transaction represented a strategic shift in the Company’s business. Consequently, the Tower Portfolio has been reclassified as a discontinued operation. For all periods presented, the assets and liabilities that transferred in the Tower Transaction (the “disposal group”) are presented as held for sale in our consolidated balance sheets, and operating results
and cash flows related to the Tower Portfolio were reflected as a discontinued operations in our consolidated statements of operations and consolidated statements of cash flows.

Refer to Note 17, Discontinued Operations, for more information regarding the presentation of the disposal group in the Company’s financial statements.

As a result of the sale of the Tower Portfolio, the Company has one reportable segment. Consequently, segment reporting previously disclosed is no longer applicable.