Mooresville, Davidson Leaders Approve $80M Sale of Continuum

MOORESVILLE, NC — The Towns of Mooresville and Davidson approved the sale of Continuum, their joint municipally owned broadband and cable provider, for $80 million in a Thursday night town board vote.

Voters in Davidson and Mooresville will now have the opportunity to weigh in on the proposed sale in the upcoming November election.

After a dozen years of joint ownership, the towns sought a buyer for Continuum in March based on their “desire for financial flexibility to invest in infrastructure and other projects,” they said in a statement.

By late April, the towns began to receive offers, with six offering $70 million or more for the system. After several rounds of offers in June, a final offer was made by Wisconsin-based TDS in the range of $75-$80 million.

TDS, which has a presence in 30 states, was selected as the proposed buyed on July 1. Current Continuum employees will be offered positions within TDS to support local and national operations, the towns said.

“We are pleased there was such a strong business interest in the purchase of Continuum,” Mooresville’s Interim Town Manager Ryan Rase said in a statement. “While many would have just focused on the dollars, we took a holistic approach and looked critically at finances, as well as industry reputation and strong community commitment.”

The proposed sale will go before voters as a ballot referendum in November, and pending approval, will take place before the end of 2019, the towns said.

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