First Avenue to acquire Teligent

First Avenue Networks announced Thursday it had signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of wireless telecommunications provider Teligent in a stock deal valued at $99 million.

Under the deal, First Avenue seeks to bolster its broadband wireless access service by acquiring Teligent's 24 GHz spectrum licenses, fixed wireless broadband operations and radio assets. The pending acquisition comes nearly two years after Teligent emerged from bankruptcy protection.

"Acquiring Teligent's assets and operations will enable us to expand our high-speed broadband wireless access service offerings. We anticipate extending these networking advantages to Teligent's customers," First Avenue CEO Dean Johnson said in a statement.

First Avenue provides fixed wireless broadband to mobile telephony backhaul carriers, metro fiber network operators and Internet service providers. Teligent uses radio signals to transmit voice and data services. After the Teligent acquisition, First Avenue will have more than 700MHz of spectrum at 24GHz and 39GHz in 75 major U.S. markets.

Teligent's history has been marked with financial struggles, despite having such high-profile investors as Microsoft and Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone.

In 2001, Teligent filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy laws. At the time, the company had roughly $1.21 billion in assets and $1.65 billion in debts, according to its court filing.

First Avenue said it expects to close the deal in the fourth quarter.