Windstream Bondholders Seek Halt to Uniti Lease Payments (1)

The trustees for certain Windstream Holdings Inc. bondholders are pushing for the telecom company to stop making lease payments in bankruptcy to Uniti Group Inc., the spinoff entity at the heart of Windstream’s February default.

Stopping the payments could be a threat to the health of Uniti, which counts Windstream as its biggest customer and has warned there’s substantial doubt about its future if the lease is rejected.

UMB Bank National Association and U.S. Bank National Association say Windstream’s agreement with Uniti is actually financing and not a “true lease.” That would mean the phone provider should stop making monthly ...