Merger

Windstream, Uniti reunite in $13.4 billion merger

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Privately-held Windstream and publicly-traded Uniti Group – two Little Rock-based companies that once were a combined entity – are reuniting in a proposed $13.4 billion merger.

Uniti Group, then known as CS&L, spun off from Windstream when it was a publicly-traded company nearly a decade ago. Uniti is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns wireless towers and fiber operations, while Windstream is a telecommunications and broadband company with with heavy operations in the Midwest and Southeastern U.S. The two entities went through years of litigation over contract arrangements, a move that contributed to Windstream’s reorganization bankruptcy in the late 2010’s. Windstream is Uniti’s largest customer.

The new deal, which has been approved by both company’s board of directors, brings the companies back together. The transaction factors in about $4.4 billion in company revenues, $8 billion in corporate debt, $425 million in cash, and $575 million in preferred equity.

Windstream, Uniti reunite in $13.4 billion merger

Rutledge leads letter supporting Tractor Supply merger

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge co-led a seven-state letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) urging the approval of the merger between Tractor Supply Company and Orscheln Farm & Home. The coalition’s letter explains how the merger will benefit rural Americans and urges the FTC to swiftly complete its review and allow the transaction to proceed.

“Having grown up on a cattle farm and as the wife of a row crop farmer, I know firsthand the significance of farm supply businesses in our communities” said Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. “This merger will allow Tractor Supply to better serve our agriculture communities and promote economic growth in our great state.”

Attorneys general play a critical role as the consumer protection leaders of their states, and it is common practice for state and federal regulators to collaborate when large companies merge. Tractor Supply has said it intends to bring lower prices, new products and brands, an attractive loyalty card program and job security to the Orscheln stores and their surrounding communities. 

The letter to the FTC was led by Arkansas and joined by attorneys general of Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana and Oklahoma.