Roseville's SureWest Communications Sold For $340.9 Million

ROSEVILLE (CBS13) – Roseville's SureWest Communications has been sold to Consolidated Communications for $340.9 million, according to SureWest.

SureWest currently has 130,000 residential subscribers and 15,700 commercial business subscribers in the Sacramento and Kansas City regions. It employs 600 people locally.

"Both Consolidated and SureWest have a long history of delivering the highest quality products and services to its customers," said Steve Oldham, president and chief executive officer of SureWest, in a press release. "From a customer perspective, the transaction creates scale by combining our proven capabilities in delivering leading edge digital TV and broadband services as a stronger, more competitive communications company. We believe the transaction is in the best interests of our company, our customers, our communities and our shareholders."

Consolidated is a communications business with services in the Illinois, Pennsylvania and Texas areas. This will be its first venture into California. "They're very excited about it," Oldham said.

Oldham said some jobs, including his, will be lost with sale but that the majority of SureWest employees will keep their jobs.

"We have to have employees here to meet the needs of the California customers," Oldham said.

SureWest is the Sacramento area's second largest publicly traded company. News of its sale Monday comes after the region's largest publicly traded company, Waste Connections, announced late last year that it was moving its corporate headquarters to Texas.

"It's a wake-up call to Sacramento to really try to attract more private-sector employers," said Sanjay Varshnay, dean of Sacramento State's business school.

SureWest's stock shot up more than 40 percent with the news of Monday's sale.