Consumer Cellular Sold to Private Equity Firm GTCR for Reported $2.3 Billion

Stoel Rives congratulates firm client Consumer Cellular on its sale of a majority stake to Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but media reported the purchase price to be approximately $2.3 billion. Consumer Cellular, which employs 2,000 at its headquarters in Tigard, Ore.; an office in Redmond, Wash.; and in Arizona, markets cellphones primarily to seniors. The buyer plans to retain all the offices and employees.

Consumer Cellular was founded in 1995 by John Marick and Greg Pryor, whose goal was to make convenient and safe cellphones accessible and affordable for everyone. The company has grown from serving 40 customers at the end of 1995 to approximately 3.5 million at the time of its purchase.

A Stoel Rives deal team represented Consumer Cellular in the drafting and negotiations (with multiple strategic and financial bidders) of the definitive transaction documents. The team was led by partner Steven J. Boender and included attorney S. Emily Spallino, with assistance from Kevin Pearson, Todd Hanchett, Matt Wilmot, Jeff Krueger and Abbey Hendricks.

More information on the transaction can be found in The Oregonian.