Guardian Business Editor : Cable Bahamas has announced that it is now a 100-percent Bahamian owned company.

As a result of approval received from the Bahamian government, the company has repurchased all of the shares previously held by Columbus Communications Ltd. (CCL).

Specifically, through a share purchase agreement, Cable Bahamas acquired 5,954,600 ordinary shares of its stock held by CCL for $80 million.

The transaction which was first announced in the summer of 2009 was funded through a combination of the company's $95 million senior credit facility and the issuance of $40 million in new preferred shares.

For Cable Bahamas, the company said that the funding would provide a strong financial position to complete the buyout but would also enable the company to upgrade and expand its services in the future.

"We are proud to announce this great news to the public, our shareholders and employees," said Anthony Butler, President, of Cable Bahamas.

"As a 100-percent owned Bahamian company, we will continue to strengthen our financial position, and lay a strong foundation on which to build a fully integrated communications company, offering expanded telecommunications services to the Bahamian people."

Currently, Cable Bahamas has more than 78,000 subscribers on its highly advanced broadband network, 44,000 high-speed Internet subscribers and over 2,000 customers utilizing international and domestic private line data circuits, IP transit and telecom/data co-location.

The company is now wholly owned by over 2,000 Bahamians and the Government of The Bahamas.

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