The judge overseeing Windstream Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy gave it more time to decide whether to keep or reject a lease with Uniti Group Inc., the company that rents out the broadband network Windstream relies on to provide service to its customers, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain signed off on an order at a hearing yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., giving Windstream through Sept. 23 to accept or reject corporate leases. Windstream’s lease with Uniti is critical to its operations, and the two companies rely on each other, with Windstream supplying more than two-thirds of Uniti’s revenue in exchange for access to fiber and copper networks across the U.S. But the lease is open to renegotiation due to Windstream’s bankruptcy, and CEO Tony Thomas said during the company’s latest earnings call that the $650 million in annual rent it pays Uniti is “significantly above-market.” Windstream estimates its lease payments could be reduced by 80 percent or more if the lease were to be renewed by 2030 because of the significant decline of the value of the copper facilities, Thomas also said.
