WideOpenWest, Inc. (WOW)

WideOpenWest, Inc., commonly branded WOW!, was a broadband provider based in Englewood, Colorado. The company was founded in 2001 and offered high-speed internet, cable television, telephone and related services to residential and business customers. By the time of the take-private it operated in markets across states including Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

Its residential offerings included broadband internet, video services with cloud DVR and streaming integration, and home and mobile phone service. For business customers it provided data and voice services, including fiber-based connectivity, Ethernet, SIP trunking and cloud-based services. The company positioned itself as an alternative to the larger incumbent cable operators in the markets it served.

WOW grew largely through acquisitions of existing cable systems, including the 2012 acquisitions of Knology and other operators under the ownership of private equity sponsors, among them Crestview Partners. The company changed its name from WideOpenWest Kite, Inc. to WideOpenWest, Inc. in March 2017 and completed its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange later that year under the symbol WOW.

As a public company, WOW faced slowing growth in traditional video subscriptions as customers moved to streaming and competition from fiber and fixed wireless providers. In response it invested in upgrading its network and expanding fiber-based broadband, while also reviewing the footprint of its older cable systems. These efforts required substantial capital spending and left the company with significant debt.

On August 11, 2025, WideOpenWest announced it had agreed to be acquired by funds managed by DigitalBridge Group and Crestview Partners in an all-cash transaction. Shareholders were to receive $5.20 per share, and the deal valued the company at an enterprise value of about $1.5 billion. The price represented a premium of about 63 percent to the stock's price before the announcement.

The transaction required shareholder and regulatory approvals and was completed on December 31, 2025. DigitalBridge and Crestview announced the closing that day, saying WOW! common stock was no longer listed on a public securities exchange. An SEC Form 25 was filed on December 31, 2025, to remove the shares from NYSE listing.

WOW continues to operate as a private company, and the WOW ticker no longer trades. Holders of common stock received cash for their shares.