Windstream Holdings Inc. on Tuesday announced nine appointments to its new board of directors, which will continue to be led by President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Thomas when the company emerges from bankruptcy protection this summer.
The Little Rock company is working to gain final approval of its restructuring plan, including a pending application before the Federal Communications Commission that outlines Windstream's post-bankruptcy ownership structure. The company also must gain approval from regulators in the states where it operates.
Tuesday's announcement identified 10 board members, including Thomas, with one seat remaining open.
The board includes "senior leaders with extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, strong operational and financial expertise and significant track records of success," Thomas said Tuesday in the announcement.
"Windstream will benefit from their valuable insights and guidance as we continue executing the company's strategy to provide innovative network and software solutions to customers."
Court and regulatory filings reveal that Windstream will exit bankruptcy as a privately held entity owned chiefly by its creditors.
Elliott Management Corp. will hold the largest equity stake at 40%, giving the company rights to name five board members. Elliott Management is a New York-based, privately-held investment fund with approximately $40 billion in assets under management.
Elliott declined comment Tuesday and Windstream did not disclose the board members appointed by Elliott or other entities.
However, Johannes Weber, a portfolio manager at Elliott who leads its team in charge of the Windstream investment, will join the new board.
Other board members will be:
• David Brown, managing director of Oaktree Capital Management.
• Randy Dunbar, who most recently served as president of Zayo Group's global transport segment.
• Bruce Kenny, an operating executive at Evergreen Coast Capital where he assists portfolio companies in product, technology, cloud operations, IT systems and services.
• William LaPerch, a current member of the Windstream board who was president and CEO of AboveNet, a publicly traded provider of high bandwidth fiber-optic connectivity services.
• W. Robert Mudge, who most recently served as executive vice president of strategic initiatives at Verizon.
• Paul Sunu, former CEO of FairPoint Communications until its merger with Consolidated Communications in 2017.
• Anand Vadapalli, operating partner at SDC Capital Partners and a director at Premera Blue Cross.
• Michael Watchorn, a principal of Seapoint Capital Management, a privately held family office investment and consulting firm.
Windstream's reorganization plan, approved by a federal judge in June, slices its debt by more than $4 billion – about two thirds – and increases its access to capital by more than $2 billion. Both maneuvers will strengthen the company's ability to make network improvements needed to battle in the highly competitive communication industry.
Elliott Management and other owners have committed to invest $750 million in Windstream's infrastructure, which also will gain another $1.75 billion in capital investments from Uniti Group Inc. under a settlement agreement approved in May. Uniti's investment will be made over a 10-year period.
"We will emerge from restructuring with a strong balance sheet and access to approximately $2 billion in new capital to expand 1 Gig broadband service to rural America and help businesses succeed in the digital transformation," Thomas said Tuesday.
The company is scheduled to announce second-quarter earnings before the stock market opens on Thursday, the last time it will release earnings publicly.
Windstream provides software services to wholesale and business customers along with broadband services to consumers primarily in rural areas in 18 states.