Uniti Group Inc. is dangling the prospect of lower payments for Windstream Holdings Inc. on the disputed lease that helped trigger its bankruptcy in return for getting some surplus Windstream assets, Bloomberg News reported. Talks are underway, with Uniti envisioning a mutually beneficial transaction that includes a way to make up for the revenue it would lose if it reduces Windstream’s $650 million annual payments. Shares of Uniti jumped as much as 8.6 percent. Concessions could include transferring fiber network assets that Windstream isn’t using to Uniti, which could then lease those lines to a third party. A deal might also include an upfront payment by Uniti for the transferred assets or extending the lease beyond its 2030 expiration.
