LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Windstream Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of advanced network communications and technology solutions, today announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (the “Court”) has confirmed the Company’s Plan of Reorganization (the “Plan”). The Company expects to complete its financial restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a privately held company in late August.
Upon emergence, the Company will reduce its debt by more than $4 billion or approximately two-thirds and have access to approximately $2 billion in new capital to expand 1 Gig Internet service in rural America and maintain its product and software leadership in SD-WAN and UCaaS for enterprise customers. This deleveraging and new financing will allow Windstream to re-focus its allocation of resources on growing the business and better positioning the Company for the long term.
“We were able to reach this important milestone thanks to the support of our financial stakeholders, as well as our customers, vendors and business partners. The Court’s confirmation of our Plan puts us on a definitive path to emerge from restructuring with a stronger balance sheet and healthy liquidity position to continue making network and software investments for the benefit of our customers,” said Tony Thomas, president and chief executive officer. “I want to thank the entire Windstream team for remaining focused on our customers and for tirelessly providing essential communications services during the reorganization process.”
Mr. Thomas continued, “We look forward to beginning this new chapter for Windstream. When we emerge, our lenders will become our new owners and strategic partners and are aligned with our long-term strategy and mission to deliver quality and reliable services. As a private company, Windstream will have increased flexibility to invest in our network, accelerate our transformation and return to growth. Together, we will emerge from this process as a stronger company able to successfully compete in the communications marketplace.”
Additional Resources
Additional resources for customers, vendors and other stakeholders, and other information on Windstream’s filings, can be accessed by visiting Windstream’s restructuring website at www.windstreamrestructuring.com. Court filings and other documents related to the Chapter 11 process are available on a separate website administered by Windstream’s claims agent, Kurtzman Carson Consultants LLC (“KCC”) at http://www.kccllc.net/windstream. Information is also available by calling 877-759-8815 (toll-free in the U.S.) or +1-424-236-7262 (for parties outside the U.S.).
Advisers
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel, PJT Partners LP is serving as financial adviser and Alvarez & Marsal is serving as restructuring adviser to Windstream.
About Windstream
Windstream Holdings, Inc., is a leading provider of advanced network communications and technology solutions. Windstream provides data networking, core transport, security, unified communications and managed services to mid-market, enterprise and wholesale customers across the U.S. The company also offers broadband, entertainment and security services for consumers and small and medium-sized businesses primarily in rural areas in 18 states. Services are delivered over multiple network platforms including a nationwide IP network, our proprietary cloud core architecture and on a local and long-haul fiber network spanning approximately 164,000 miles. Additional information is available at windstream.com or windstreamenterprise.com. Please visit our newsroom at news.windstream.com or follow us on Twitter at @Windstream.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions based on management's views, estimates, beliefs as of the time of these statements regarding future events and results. When used in this release, words such as “will,” “potential,” “believe,” “estimate,” “intend,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “anticipate,” “could,” “plan,” “predict,” “strategy,” “future” or their negatives or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Forward-looking statements involve uncertainties and are subject to many risks and variables. Actual future events may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors related to our Chapter 11 cases, which are set forth in our risk factors described in our 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K and 2020 First Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Although we believe our forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, no assurance can be given that these assumptions are accurate or that any of these expectations will be achieved (partially or in full) or will prove to have been correct. In light of the above, the events anticipated by our forward-looking statements may not occur, and, if any of such events do, we may not have correctly anticipated timing or the extent of their impact. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. These cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf.
