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.
