Windstream Holdings Inc. is looking for $2 billion to exit bankruptcy as it tries to end an era marked by declining business and a controversial spinoff that ultimately led to its restructuring, Bloomberg News reported. The telecommunications company aims to complete its chapter 11 case by late August, and plans to keep Chief Executive Officer Tony Thomas and Chief Financial Officer Bob Gunderman at the helm. Investors have already submitted enough orders to cover the roughly $1.65 billion of first-lien debt at a yield in the low 8 percent range, according to a person with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has been gauging interest for the financing over the past few days, and a deal may emerge as soon as next week. With the backing of distressed-debt heavyweights Elliott Management Corp. and Oaktree Capital Management, Windstream is essentially asking investors to give a second chance to the team that led the company through a controversial 2015 spinoff of Uniti Group Inc. that left it saddled with about $6.5 billion of debt and ultimately drove it into bankruptcy. It’s trying to chart a brighter future pegged to growing demand for broadband internet services in rural areas. The first-lien debt may be split equally between loans and bonds, though that could change. The financing, in its preliminary structure, also includes about $500 million of junior debt.
