Dow Jones story about Frontier Communications. The story really seems to be about buying fiber as a strategic play rather than landlines as in the title. But everyone seems to agree that Verizon got the best of the deal and Frontier has executed badly. http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/08/this-telecom-bet-big-on-landlines-and-lost.html
Frontier's troubles multiplied in spring 2016 after it closed a $10.5 billion deal for phone and internet lines from Verizon. Frontier has been losing customers and scrambling to cover looming debt payments. It plans a 1-for-15 reverse stock split on Monday, a move designed to keep its Nasdaq listing.
"This last acquisition was largely about acquiring fiber," a strategy the company still supports, finance chief Perley McBride said. "It's just integration that didn't go well. When you double in size and you don't do it well, it's sort of up front and center."
"Verizon is notorious for being very good sellers of assets," said Moody's Investors Service analyst Mark Stodden. The bond-rating firm recently downgraded Frontier's credit to B2, five steps below investment grade, citing "sharp subscriber losses" since the latest acquisition.
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