Frontier Communications to Sell $1 Billion Fiber-Backed Bond

2023-07-20 23:25

Frontier Communications Parent Inc. is sounding out investors regarding a roughly $1 billion bond deal that will repackage

Frontier Communications Parent Inc. is sounding out investors regarding a roughly $1 billion bond deal that will repackage revenue from its secured fiber network, the latest in a string of companies trying to capitalize on fiber.

Frontier’s bonds, which will qualify as green, will be backed by some of its fiber assets and associated customer contracts in the Dallas area, the company said in a statement. It will use the proceeds to repay existing debt and for general corporate purposes, including investments as part of its fiber expansion. The company may increase the size the offering, depending on market conditions, it said.

Goldman Sachs & Co., Barclays Plc and Morgan Stanley are structuring the bond sale, which began premarketing Thursday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Fitch Ratings is assigning an A rating to the largest tranches, the person said.

Frontier is the latest company to borrow in the asset backed securities market with a fiber deal. MetroNet Holdings LLC, the fiber internet company backed by KKR & Co. Inc. and Oak Hill Capital Partners, in October sold a US deal that bundled contract payments from fiber lines that support internet, cable and telephone services. Others such as Allo Communications LLC, a provider of high-speed internet on fiber network, issued bonds in June, while Hotwire Communications LLC tapped the market with a fiber-backed ABS in May.

The bond offering comes as sales of asset backed securities have dropped this year. US ABS issuance is roughly 10% lower than at this time last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Frontier filed for bankruptcy in April 2020 with a plan to cut more than $10 billion of its $17 billion debt by handing ownership to bondholders. It was the biggest telecom bankruptcy since WorldCom Inc. in 2002. The company returned to the market with a $1 billion junk bond offering in 2021 as it sought to fund an overhaul of its business.

(Updates with premarketing of the ABS deal throughout. A previous version incorrectly spelled Frontier in the last paragraph.)