Windstream issues $1.78 million additional 8¾% exchange notes; no 2023 tenders accepted

By Wendy Van Sickle

Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 5 – Windstream Holdings, Inc. issued an additional $1.78 million of new 8¾% senior exchange notes due 2024 after the early settlement of the offer being held by its Windstream Services, LLC subsidiary, and an exchange offer for its 7½% senior notes due 2023 failed to meet the minimum exchange condition, according to an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Specifically, at final settlement on Dec. 29, $1.7 million of additional new notes were issued in exchange for the issuer’s 7¾% senior notes due 2021, and $800,000 of new notes were issued in exchange for its 7½% senior notes due 2022.

As announced Nov. 28, Windstream was holding debt exchange offers in two parts, one that covered the issuer’s $120,344,000 of outstanding 7½% senior notes due 2023, the other for its $628,122,000 of outstanding 7¾% senior notes due 2021 and $273,674,000 of outstanding 7½% senior notes due 2022.

Investors had tendered $537,636,000 principal amount, or 86%, of the 7¾% senior notes due 2021 and $232,093,000 principal amount, or 85%, of 7½% senior notes due 2022 as of the early date, 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 11.

Windstream issued $832.6 million of the new 8¾% notes due 2024 on Dec. 13 to settle these early tenders.

The late exchange value for each $1,000 principal amount was $1,085 for the 2021 notes and $1,075 for the 2022 notes, which is the same as the early exchange values, after the company increased the early exchange value in December.

Before the change, the exchange value per $1,000 principal amount was set to be $1,035.00 for the 2021 notes and $1,025 for the 2022 notes.

Windstream also offered to exchange any and all of the remaining $120,344,000 of outstanding 7½% senior notes due 2023 for new 6 3/8% senior notes due 2023.

For the 2023 notes, holders had tendered $68.21 million principal amount, or about 57%, of the notes as of the early deadline.

The 2023 exchange was contingent upon a minimum of $90 million principal amount of 2023 notes being tendered for exchange, a condition which the issuer said was not met at the final deadline. As a result, no new 6 3/8% senior notes were issued.

The exchange ended at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 26.

Windstream also paid accrued interest in cash up to but excluding the settlement date.

Global Bondholder Services Corp. (866 807-2200, 212 430-3774 or http://gbsc-usa.com/eligibility/Windstream) is information and exchange agent for the exchange offers and information and tabulation agent for the consent solicitations.

Windstream is a Little Rock, Ark.-based networking and telecommunications company.

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