The Value in Uniti’s Proposed Acquisition of Windstream Is in Mitigating Key Customer Risk

Uniti’s merger with Windstream will primarily result in Windstream’s business going public, while the bulk of Uniti disappears. About 70% of Uniti’s revenue and almost 90% of profits come from the firm’s master lease agreement with Windstream. This lease expense for Windstream—and lease revenue for Uniti—will disappear when the firms merge, leaving Windstream’s residential and enterprise telecom business and the relatively small amount of other fiber leasing revenue Uniti currently has.