Primus rises as co. closes on BlackIron sale

MCLEAN, Va. (AP) -- Shares of Primus Telecommunications Group Inc. jumped Thursday as the company announced that it completed the sale of its Canadian data center operations to Rogers Communications Inc. for about 200 million Canadian dollars ($195 million).

Primus, a McLean, Va.-based telecommunications products and services provider, said late Wednesday that it will consider various alternatives for deploying proceeds from the sale of BlackIron Data LLC.

BlackIron had 2012 revenue of $34 million. It owns and runs eight data centers in five Canadian cities and has about 4,000 customers.

Rogers, a Canadian communications and media company, said that BlackIron will bolster its enterprise-level data center and cloud computing services as well as its fiber-based network connectivity services.

"This acquisition presents Rogers with a significant growth opportunity in the business-to-business market that aligns with our overall enterprise strategy," Terry Canning, senior vice president of Rogers Business Solutions, said in a statement.

The deal was approved by Primus' board and a special committee of directors.

Primus' stock surged $2.41, or 24.4 percent, to $12.32 in afternoon trading. The shares have traded in a range of $9.85 and $17.75 over the last year. It is down 8.8 percent for the year-to-date. Rogers' U.S.-listed stock fell 11 cents to $49.95.