ExciteAtHome, the leading provider of high-speed Internet access over cable television lines, said Friday it will sell its broadband business to AT&T Corp. for $307 million in cash and file for bankruptcy protection.
Under the agreement, the once high-flying company’s network would become a part of AT&T, which already has a controlling interest in ExciteAtHome. The deal is subject to a bankruptcy judge’s approval.
The bankruptcy filing, which was expected late Friday in San Francisco, will not result in any service disruptions to ExciteAtHome’s 3.7 million subscribers, the companies said.
The directors of AT&T and ExciteAtHome approved the asset-purchase agreement.
The deal, however, could be canceled if higher and better offers are received. AT&T said it plans to build on the assets it acquires to develop a more robust network.
The announcement is the latest development in the spectacular rise and fall of Redwood City, Calif.-based ExciteAtHome. At the height of the Internet boom in 1999, At Home Corp. merged with the portal Excite Inc. in a $6.7 billion merger. Executives at the time believed the company would someday rival America Online.
But the bubble burst and advertising revenue dwindled.
