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NuVox Communications and NewSouth Communications Close Merger of Equals

Submitted by: John Warner on May 24, 2004 at 5:00 am Tagged with: General Archives Source:

Two high-growth communications companies close merger and prepare to
further penetrate 16-state footprint

GREENVILLE, S.C., May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- NuVox, Inc. and NewSouth
Holdings, Inc., two privately held facilities-based communication providers,
today announced they had completed their merger of equals. The merged company
will provide local, long distance, data, Internet, and advanced communications
services as NuVox Communications to new business customers in 16 states across
the Southeast and the Midwest.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040524/NYM088LOGO )
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040225/CLW032-a )
"With the completion of the merger, we are focused on swiftly integrating
our employees and systems to support our current customers and to fully
capitalize on the growth potential in our newly combined footprint," stated
Jim Akerhielm, Chief Executive Officer of NuVox Communications. "Because of
the proven track record of these two companies and the total talent base now
available to us, NuVox can quickly launch and support more robust products and
services, and thereby market to a wider base of business customers. In
today's competitive environment, businesses are looking for more from their
communications provider, and combining the strengths and experience of these
two companies positions us extremely well to meet the needs of business
customers and to strengthen our competitive position in each of our markets."
"Early on, the major investors of NuVox and NewSouth, which include
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company; Wachovia Capital Partners; M/C Venture
Partners; Goldman Sachs; JP Morgan; Quadrangle Group Capital Partners; Whitney
& Company; and Columbia Capital recognized the staying power of NuVox and
NewSouth in what has been a particularly difficult telecommunications
environment," added David L. Solomon, Chairman of NuVox Communications.
"Merging these companies certainly made excellent strategic sense, and with
the merger complete, we are looking forward to building on our cumulative
customer base and marketplace reputation to position NuVox as the leading
provider of communications services to business customers in the Southeast and
Midwest."
As announced previously, the following will hold key leadership positions
with NuVox Communications:

-- Chairman of the Board David L. Solomon
-- Chief Executive Officer James W. Akerhielm
-- Chief Financial Officer Stephen H. Shoemaker
-- General Counsel & Secretary Riley M. Murphy
-- Executive Vice President Christopher J. Benyo
of Sales & Marketing
-- Senior Vice President David K. Hudson
of Sales
-- Vice President of Marketing J. Pendleton Gaines
-- Senior Vice President Laurence S. Dubow
of Customer Operations
-- Senior Vice President Paul A. Pitts
of Network Operations & Engineering
-- Chief Integration Officer Josephine Young
-- Senior Vice President Marguerite A. Forrest
of Human Resources Integration

The company is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Financial
terms of the merger were not disclosed.

About NuVox Communications:
NuVox Communications is a privately held broadband Integrated
Communications Provider (ICP) offering a comprehensive selection of data,
Internet, voice, and other advanced communications solutions to business
customers. The company serves customers in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri,
Kansas, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana. NuVox provides its
integrated voice and data services through advanced Lucent, Nortel, and Cisco
switches. Its long distance network is based on the Sonus Insignus platform.
For more information, visit http://www.nuvox.com or http://www.newsouth.com.

Certain statements in this release may constitute "forward-looking
statements." When used in this release, words like "may," "will," "can,"
"should," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "project," or "intend" and other
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Statements regarding future events and developments and future performance, as
well as expectations, beliefs, plans, or projections, are forward-looking
statements which reflect only the Company's predictions, assumptions, and
estimates regarding future events and circumstances. Actual events or results
may differ substantially as a result of risks and uncertainties facing the
Company, including those regarding the continued development of the its
business; markets for its services and products; continued availability and
sufficiency of capital; the ability of the Company to integrate successfully
the NewSouth and NuVox businesses; the Company's degree of financial leverage;
the ability to establish and maintain relationships with incumbent local
telephone companies and to secure transmission capacity; the impact of
competitive services, pricing and alternative technologies; negative economic
factors; regulatory requirements and uncertainties; and acquisitions and other
strategic investments. The forward-looking statements are based on current
expectations as of the date of these statements. The Company undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of future events, new information, or otherwise.

SOURCE NuVox Communications
Web Site: http://www.nuvox.com http://www.newsouth.com
Photo Notes: NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040524/NYM088LOGO
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040225/CLW032-a AP Archive:
http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk,
photodesk@prnewswire.com