Filing Flows › Uniti Group (UNIT) › Takeover & LBO
Is Uniti Group (UNIT) a takeover target?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($6.58 a share) would return a loss of about 15% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%. It already carries 8.2× EBITDA in net debt (the model flags anything over 6×), so a buyer could add little debt of its own. Historically 3.7% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.74× the average).
The buyout, step by step
| Entry | Amount | How |
|---|---|---|
| Offer price a share | $6.58 | today's $5.06 plus 30% |
| × shares | 252.9 million | |
| = Equity value | $1.7B | |
| + Debt refinanced | $10.6B | |
| − Cash | $609M | |
| = Enterprise value | $11.7B | 9.6× EBITDA of $1.2B |
| Fees | $234M | 2% of the price |
| New debt | $6.7B | 5.5× EBITDA at 7.65% a year; the limit that binds: 5.5× EBITDA |
| Buyer's own money | $5.2B | 44% of the cost |
5 years under the buyer
| Year | Revenue | EBITDA | Interest | Free cash flow | Debt left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $3.6B | $1.2B | $512M | −$645M | $7.3B |
| Year 2 | $3.7B | $1.3B | $562M | −$698M | $8.0B |
| Year 3 | $3.8B | $1.3B | $615M | −$756M | $8.8B |
| Year 4 | $3.9B | $1.3B | $673M | −$819M | $9.6B |
| Year 5 | $4.0B | $1.4B | $735M | −$887M | $10.5B |
The exit and the buyer's return
| Exit | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit multiple | 9.3× EBITDA | today's trading multiple, before any premium |
| Enterprise value at exit | $12.8B | |
| − Debt left | $10.5B | |
| = Buyer's equity | $2.3B | |
| Money multiple | 0.44× | on $5.2B put in |
| Buyer's yearly return (IRR) | −15.2% |
Price against return
What the buyer makes at other premiums over today's $5.06.
| Premium | Price a share | Buyer's IRR |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $5.57 | −14.3% |
| 20% | $6.07 | −14.8% |
| 30% | $6.58 | −15.2% |
| 40% | $7.08 | −15.6% |
| 50% | $7.59 | −16.0% |
The figures used
| Figure | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue, last 12 months | $3.5B | |
| EBITDA, last 12 months | $1.2B | 34.4% of revenue |
| Depreciation and amortization | $1.1B | |
| Capital spending | $1.3B | |
| Debt | $10.6B | |
| Cash | $609M | |
| Share price | $5.06 | on Oct 30, 2026 |
Fixed rules, the same as the interactive view's starting point: the shares are bought at today's price plus 30%, the company's debt is refinanced and fees take 2%. New debt is the least of 5.5× EBITDA, 65% of the price and the amount whose interest EBITDA covers 2 times, at 7.65% a year (SOFR 3.89% plus the high-yield B spread 3.26% plus 0.5%, rates of Oct 15, 2026). Revenue grows 2.0% in the first year — the company's own rate, held between −3% and +8% — fading to 3% by year 5; the EBITDA margin, depreciation and capital spending stay at today's share of revenue; working capital takes 10% of each year's added revenue; tax is 21% of profit after interest. Every dollar of free cash flow repays debt. After 5 years the buyer sells at today's multiple of EBITDA.
What a takeover could cost
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Uniti Group would cost about $6.70 a share, $1.7B for all its shares.
| Premium | % | Price a share | All shares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low end (a quarter of deals paid less) | 20% | $6.07 | $1.5B |
| Median | 32.5% | $6.70 | $1.7B |
| High end (a quarter paid more) | 51.8% | $7.68 | $1.9B |
The odds, from history
Historically 3.7% of companies with its figures were bought within a year (0.74× the average). Its figures put it in decile 3 of 10 (10 = the most likely to be bought). The odds come from a model of every merger proxy, tender-offer response and going-private statement filed on EDGAR since 2011, set against each company's size, margins, debt, cash flow and growth the year before.
Uniti Group's latest quarter
Uniti Group, Q2 2026: revenue $910M (+202% year over year), operating margin 3.5%, net loss $156M, operating cash flow $78.5M. The chart follows the revenue to costs, profit and cash.
Questions
Is Uniti Group being acquired?
No headline, 8-K or 13D about a sale is on file in the last year.
Could private equity buy Uniti Group?
A leveraged buyout at today's price plus 30% ($6.58 a share) would return a loss of about 15% a year to a private-equity buyer over 5 years; no price, however low, gets a buyer to 20%. It already carries 8.2× EBITDA in net debt (the model flags anything over 6×), so a buyer could add little debt of its own.
What would a takeover of Uniti Group cost?
Takeovers on record paid a median premium of 32.5% over the share price before the deal (the middle half 20% to 51.8%), according to the 1,437 merger proxies and tender-offer responses on EDGAR that state a premium. At the median, Uniti Group would cost about $6.70 a share, $1.7B for all its shares.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.