Windstream files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeks ‘consensual plan of reorganization’

Windstream Holdings, the Little Rock-based provider of telecommunications services including broadband and entertainment, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 25.

The company said in a release that its filing was the result of a New York court decision against Windstream Services, LLC, a subsidiary of the company.

The company now “has access to the capital and resources we need to continue building ... while we engage in constructive discussion with our creditors,” the release stated.

“We acted decisively to secure the long-term financial stability of Windstream, and we are confident that, upon competition of the reorganization process, we will be even better positioned to investment in our business, expand our speed and capabilities for our customers and compete in the long term,” the Windstream release said.

Windstream brought one-gigabit Internet service to Lexington in 2016, months after it announced that its Kinetic TV’s broadband service would compete with Spectrum cable in Lexington. Lexington was Kinetic TV’s second market, after Lincoln, Neb.

On Feb. 15, a New York judge ruled that Windstream Services LLC’s 2015 spinoff of some telecommunications network assets into a real estate investment trust violated its agreements with bondholders, according to the Windstream release. The bondholders included Aurelius Capital Management, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The company listed assets in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion and liabilities in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion, according to Reuters.

Windstream said it had received a commitment from Citigroup Global Markets Inc. for $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing to support its continuing business operations.

This story was originally published February 26, 2019 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Windstream files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeks ‘consensual plan of reorganization’."