Fitch rates Windstream loans BB+/RR1

Fitch Ratings said it assigned a BB+/RR1 rating to Windstream Services, LLC's issuance of $580 million of senior secured term loans due 2024.

Term loan proceeds were used to repay the $572 million amount outstanding under its senior secured tranche B5 term loan due 2019.

Windstream's issuer default rating is BB- and the outlook is stable.

Windstream reached an agreement to merge with EarthLink Holdings Corp. in an all-stock transaction with a total value, including debt, of about $1.1 billion. Windstream will refinance roughly $436 million of EarthLink's outstanding debt with $450 million of incremental senior secured tranche B6 term loans that will be drawn at the transaction's close.

Fitch said it expects EarthLink to become a guarantor of Windstream's credit facilities and senior unsecured notes. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2017, following customary shareholder and regulatory approvals.

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