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ISP Windstream Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy After Being Hit With $310 Million Judgement (arkansasbusiness.com)
bbsguru writes: Windstream Holdings Inc. of Arkansas filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday, less than two weeks after a federal court judge found that the 2015 spinoff of its fiber and copper assets into a separate company ran afoul of bond covenants, exposing the company to a $310 million judgment. Windstream, a spinoff of the old Alltel Corp. of Arkansas, reported $5.8 billion in revenue in 2017. It employs about 13,000 companywide. CEO Tony Thomas said in a press release that the reorganization is "a necessary step to address the financial impact" of the judge's decision and "the impact it would have on consumers and businesses across the states in which we operate."
"Taking this proactive step will ensure that Windstream has access to the capital and resources we need to continue building on Windstream's strong operational momentum while we engage in constructive discussions with our creditors regarding the terms of a consensual plan of reorganization," Thomas said. "We acted decisively to secure the long-term financial stability of Windstream, and we are confident that, upon completion of the reorganization process, we will be even better positioned to invest in our business, expand our speed and capabilities for our customers and compete for the long term." A court approval of a reorganization plan will allow the company to continue paying its employees and maintain relationships with vendors, business partners and customers, Thomas said.
"Taking this proactive step will ensure that Windstream has access to the capital and resources we need to continue building on Windstream's strong operational momentum while we engage in constructive discussions with our creditors regarding the terms of a consensual plan of reorganization," Thomas said. "We acted decisively to secure the long-term financial stability of Windstream, and we are confident that, upon completion of the reorganization process, we will be even better positioned to invest in our business, expand our speed and capabilities for our customers and compete for the long term." A court approval of a reorganization plan will allow the company to continue paying its employees and maintain relationships with vendors, business partners and customers, Thomas said.
Alltel bought, stripped and dumped a company called Systematics back in the 90's. Mostly because they were desperate to get a grip on the then new booming cell phone market and had no real system capable of handling the tracking and billing. Buying a company that did contract services for banks was the closest they could get. It worked. They got a billing system created, spun off some healthcare software and screwed the employees by selling the rest over to Fiserv. Much $$$ for the board. They later went private, spun the legacy deadweight landlines off into Windstream and then screwed over some more folks by selling to Verizon wireless. And yet again more $$$ for the board w no regard for the viability of the surviving bad smell that was left of the firm. That Windstream still existed was surprising.