I was looking at Windstream's debt overview on their page at http://http://investor.windstream.com/debt-overview ... it doesn't look promising. S&P credit rating on the Senior Unsecured Dept is a 'C'.. translated from the S&P page that means... "An obligation rated 'C' is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared with obligations that are rated higher." That's one mark above a 'D' rating of DEFAULT.
So .. from Windstreams own page that was last updated March 31, 2018.
Senior Secured Debt
Bank Credit Facility - Variable rate due 2021... 1.19 billion
Bank Credit Facility - Variable rate due 2024 ... 573 million
Revolver - Variable Rate due 2020 .. 1.028 Billion
Windstream Holdings - 6.75% Note rate .. due 2028 ... 100 Million
Total of Secured Debt is 2.89 Billion
Senior Unsecured Debt
Windstream Services - 7.75% Notes due 2020 .. 493 Million
Windstream Services - 7.75% Notes due 2021 .. 89 Million
Windstream Services - 7.50% Notes due 2022 .. 42 Million
Windstream Services - 7.50% Notes due 2023 .. 120 Million
Windstream Services - 6.375% Notes due 2023 .. 1.148 Billion
Windstream Services - 8.75% Notes due 2024 .. 684 Million
Windstream Services - 8.625% Notes due 2025 .. 600 Million
Total Unsecured Debt .. 3.176 Billion
Total Secured and Unsecured is $6.066 Billion
Total Long Term including maturities is $6.052 Billion
I fail to see the light at the end of the tunnel by looking at this. Can't imagine the updated report will look any better. Stock continues to drop. Sure they can kick the can down the road with the 2020 Exchange Offer swapping its 7.75% senior notes due 2020 (the “2020 Notes”) for new 9.375% senior second lien notes due 2024 but what does this accomplish? There is a serious cash flow problem that isn't being addressed with the layoffs. The trim must take place from the top down rather than the bottom up. Waste needed to be addressed years ago with the doubling up of KDL & McLeod facilities in the mid-west. There are still many properties on separate floors or a block from each other that could have been merged to save cash and was never done. Now it's too late since there is no short money to accomplish the task and save in the long term. The acquisition of Earthlink created more of the same issues. the thought of rebranding the company failed before it was out of the gate. Millions dropped in Fixed Wireless in markets that there was no chance of success. And don't even get me started on SD-WAN.
So... does anyone see how this could end in anything other than a bankruptcy and liquidation of assets? I don't think TT has a plan of anything other than to ride it to the end.
Your comments are welcome.