UNIT 10-Q Quarter ended March 31, 2017

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2017

OR

For the transition period from _______ to _______

Commission File Number: 001-36708

Uniti Group Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (501) 850-0820

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.     Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).     Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).     Yes ☐ No ☒

As of April 28, 2017, the registrant had 175,448,233 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share, outstanding.

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CAUTI ONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes forward-looking statements as defined under U.S. federal securities law. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical statements of fact and those regarding our intent, belief or expectations, including, but not limited to, statements regarding: our expectations regarding the future growth and demand of the telecommunication industry; future financing plans, business strategies, growth prospects and operating and financial performance; expectations regarding the impact and timing of the pending the acquisitions of Hunt Telecommunications, LLC ("Hunt") and Southern Light, LLC ("Southern Light"), including expectations regarding operational synergies with Uniti Towers and Uniti Fiber; expectations regarding settling conversion of our 3% convertible preferred stock in cash upon conversion; expectations regarding the probability of our obligation to pay contingent consideration upon Tower Cloud, Inc.'s ("Tower Cloud") or Hunt's achievement of certain defined operational and financial milestones; expectations regarding future deployment of fiber strand miles and recognition of revenue related thereto; expectations regarding levels of capital expenditures; expectations regarding the deductibility of goodwill for tax purposes; expectations regarding the amortization of intangible assets; and expectations regarding the payment of dividends.

Words such as "anticipate(s)," "expect(s)," "intend(s)," "plan(s)," "believe(s)," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "seek(s)" and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could lead to actual results differing materially from those projected, forecasted or expected. Although we believe that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained. Factors which could have a material adverse effect on our operations and future prospects or which could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations include, but are not limited to:

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Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Quarterly Report. Except in the normal course of our public disclosure obligations, we expressly disclaim any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

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Uniti Group Inc.

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Item 1. Financial Statements.

Uniti Group Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Uniti Group Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Uniti Group Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss)

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Uniti Group Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Deficit

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

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Uniti Group Inc.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(unaudited)

Note 1. Organization and Description of Business

Uniti Group Inc. (the “Company,” “Uniti,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), formerly known as Communications Sales and Leasing, Inc., was incorporated in the state of Maryland on September 4, 2014 as a subsidiary of Windstream Holdings, Inc. (“Windstream Holdings” and together with its subsidiaries, “Windstream”). On April 24, 2015, Uniti was separated and spun-off from Windstream (“the Spin-Off”). In connection with the Spin-Off, Windstream contributed certain telecommunications network assets, including fiber and copper networks and other real estate (the “Distribution Systems”) and a small consumer competitive local exchange carrier (“CLEC”) business (the “Consumer CLEC Business”). Immediately following the Spin-Off we entered into a long-term exclusive triple-net lease (the “Master Lease”) with Windstream pursuant to which Uniti leases the Distribution Systems to Windstream. The assets and liabilities of the Distribution Systems and Consumer CLEC Business were recorded in our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements on a carryover basis as of the date of the Spin-Off.

We are an independent, internally managed REIT engaged in the acquisition and construction of mission critical infrastructure in the communications industry. We are principally focused on acquiring and constructing fiber optic broadband networks, wireless communications towers, copper and coaxial broadband networks and data centers. Effective the first quarter of 2017, we commenced managing our operations in four separate lines of business: Unit Fiber, Uniti Towers, Uniti Leasing, and the Consumer CLEC Business .

Note 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information set forth in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), as published by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), and with the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair statement of results for the interim period have been included. Operating results from any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full fiscal year. The accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 (“Annual Report”), filed with the SEC on February 23, 2017. Accordingly, significant accounting policies and other disclosures normally provided have been omitted from the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes since such items are disclosed in our Annual Report. All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.

Income Taxes —We currently have recorded a $5.3 million liability for unrecognized tax benefits in connection with the acquisition of Network Management Holdings, LTD (“NMS”). See Note 3. We have filed our initial U.S. federal and state income tax returns which are subject to examination.

Reclassifications —Certain amounts have been reclassified to conform with current year presentation. Following the acquisition of Network Management Holdings, LTD (“NMS”) in the first quarter of 2017, the Company manages and reports our operations in four reportable business segment: Leasing, Fiber Infrastructure, Towers and Consumer CLEC. Prior year information, including revenues on the Consolidated Statement of Income, has been recast to conform to the current year presentation. See Note 11 . We determined that certain immaterial misclassifications existed in the supplemental guarantor information condensed consolidating statements of comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2016. D uring the first quarter of 2017, certain Non-Guarantor entities became Guarantor entities. Prior year information has been recast to conform to the current year presentation. See Note 14 .

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In February 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2017-05, Other Income - Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets (“ASU 2017-05”), which provides guidance for recognizing gains and losses from the transfer of nonfinancial assets and for partial sales of nonfinancial assets, and is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impacts the adoption of this accounting standard will have on our financial statements.

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Continued

(unaudited)

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Accounting for Goodwill Impairment ( “ ASU 2017-04”), which removes the requirement to perform a hypothetical purchase price allocation to measure goodwill impairment. A goodwill impairment will now be the amount by which a reporting unit’s c arrying value exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill. ASU 2017-04 is effective for annual and interim periods beginning January 1, 2020, with early adoption permitted, and applied prospectively. We adopted ASU 2017-04 effecti ve January 1, 2017, and there was no material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business (“ASU 2017-01”), in an effort to clarify the definition of a business with the objective of adding guidance to assist entities with evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. ASU 2017-01 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted. We adopted ASU 2017-01 effective January 1, 2017, with prospective application. As a result of the adoption of ASU 2017-01, the Company’s acquisition of NMS) ( see Note 3 ) was determined to be an asset acquisition. Transaction cost associated with our real property interest investments are now capitalized as opposed to be recorded as an expense as was required prior to adoption of ASU 2017-01.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09”). This update outlines a single comprehensive revenue recognition model for entities to follow in accounting for revenue from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The core principle of the revenue model is that an entity should recognize revenue for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to receive for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted for public companies for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company intends to adopt the revenue recognition guidance on January 1, 2018. The Company’s implementation efforts include reviewing revenue contracts and the identification of revenue within scope of the guidance. While the Company currently has not identified any material changes in the timing of revenue recognition, the evaluation is ongoing and we are in the process of determining the method of adoption .

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (“ASC 842”), which sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of leases for both parties to a contract (i.e. lessees and lessors). The new standard requires lessees to apply a dual approach, classifying leases as either finance or operating leases based on the principle of whether or not the lease is effectively a financed purchase by the lessee.  This classification will determine whether lease expense is recognized based on an effective interest method or on a straight line basis over the term of the lease, respectively.  A lessee is also required to record a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases with a term of greater than 12 months regardless of their classification.  Leases with a term of 12 months or less will be accounted for similar to existing guidance for operating leases today. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance to determine the impact it will have on our financial statements by reviewing its existing operating lease contracts, where we are the lessee and service contracts that may include embedded leases. The Company expects a gross-up of its Consolidated Balance Sheets as a result of recognizing lease liabilities and right of use assets, the extent of the impact of a gross-up is under evaluation. The Company does not anticipate material chang es to the recognition of operating lease expense in its Consolidated Statements of Income .

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (“ASU 2016-15”). ASU 2016-15 provides guidance on reducing the diversity in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. In addition to other specific cash flow issues, ASU 2016-15 provides clarification on when an entity should separate cash receipts and cash payments into more than one class of cash flows and when an entity should classify those cash receipts and payments into one class of cash flows on the basis of predominance. The new guidance is effective for the fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years, and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impacts the adoption of this accounting standard will have on our financial statements.

Note 3. Business Combinations and Asset Acquisitions

Asset Acquisitions

Network Management Holdings LTD

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Continued

(unaudited)

On January 31, 2017, we completed the previously announced acquisition of NMS. The Company accounted for the acquisition of NMS as an asset purchase. At close, NMS owned and operated 366 wireless communications towers in Latin America with an additional 105 build to suit tower sites under development. The NMS portfolio spans three Latin America countries with 212 towers in Mexico, 54 towers in Nicaragua, and 100 towers in Colombia. The co nsideration for the 366 wireless towers currently in operation was $62.6 million, which was funded through cash on hand, and is presented in NMS asset acquisition on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. NMS conducts its operations through t hree non-U.S. subsidiaries and the Company has determined that the functional currencies for the Mexico, Nicaraguan and Colombian subsidiaries are the Mexican Peso, US Dollar and Colombian Peso, respectively.  The non-U.S. subsidiaries in which NMS conduct s its operations are subject to income tax in the jurisdictions in which they operate.  The acquisition did not result in a step up in tax basis under local law.  The Company recorded a net deferred tax liability of $18.4 million and a liability for unreco gnized tax benefits of $5.3 million in connection with the acquisition. The deferred tax liability is primarily related to the excess of the recorded amounts for Property, Plant & Equipment and Intangibles over their respective historical tax bases.  Under the terms of the purchase agreement, we will acquire the towers under development when construction is completed. The NMS towers are reflected in our Towers segment. See note 11 . The following is a summary of the estimated f air values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed:

Of the $52.4 million of acquired intangible assets, $37.4 million was assigned to tenant contracts (22 year life), $13.5 million was assigned to network (22 year life) and $1.5 million was assigned to acquired above-market leases (10 year life). The acquired below-market lease intangible liability of $3.4 million has a 10 year life. See Note 7 .

On March 15, 2017, construction was completed on 24 towers that were under development, and we acquired the towers pursuant to the purchase agreement for approximately $2.1 million.

Business Combinations

Tower Cloud, Inc.

On August 31, 2016, we acquired 100% of the outstanding equity of Tower Cloud, Inc. (“Tower Cloud”) for $187.5 million in cash and 1.9 million shares of our common stock with an acquisition date fair value of $58.5 million. Additional contingent consideration of up to $130 million, with an acquisition date fair value of $98.6 million, may be paid upon the achievement of certain defined operational and financial milestones. See Note 4 . At the Company’s discretion, a combination of cash and Uniti common shares may be used to satisfy the contingent consideration payments, provided that at least 50% of the aggregate amount of payments is satisfied in cash. Tower Cloud provides data transport services, with particular focus on providing infrastructure solutions to the wireless and enterprise sectors, including fiber-to-the-tower backhaul, small cell networks, and dark fiber deployments. The acquisition was recorded by allocating the costs of the assets acquired based on their estimated fair values at the acquisition date. The excess of the cost of the acquisition over the fair value of the assets acquired is recorded as goodwill within our Fiber Infrastructure segment. During the first quarter of 2017, certain contractual working capital adjustments resulted in a $0.2 million reduction of the purchase price and goodwill. See Note 7 . The following is a summary of the estimated fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed:

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Continued

(unaudited)

Note 4. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

FASB ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements , establishes a hierarchy of valuation techniques based on the observability of inputs utilized in measuring assets and liabilities at fair values. This hierarchy establishes market-based or observable inputs as the preferred source of values, followed by valuation models using management assumptions in the absence of market inputs. The three levels of the hierarchy are as follows:

Level 1 – Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity can access at the assessment date

Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly

Level 3 – Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability

Our financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts and other receivables, a derivative liability, our outstanding notes and other debt, and accounts, interest and dividends payable.

The following table summarizes the fair value of our financial instruments at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016:

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Continued

(unaudited)

The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, accounts and other receivables, and accounts, interest and dividends payable approximate fair values due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments.

The total principal balance of our outstanding notes and other debt was $4.16 billion at March 31, 2017, with a fair value of $4.24 billion. The estimated fair value of our outstanding notes and other debt was based on available external pricing data and current market rates for similar debt instruments, among other factors, which are classified as Level 2 inputs within the fair value hierarchy. Derivative liabilities are carried at fair value. See Note 6 . The fair value of an interest rate swap is determined based on the present value of expected future cash flows using observable, quoted LIBOR swap rates for the full term of the swap and also incorporate credit valuation adjustments to appropriately reflect both Uniti’s own non-performance risk and non-performance risk of the respective counterparties. The Company has determined that the majority of the inputs used to value its derivative liabilities fall within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy; however the associated credit valuation adjustments utilized Level 3 inputs, such as estimates of credit spreads, to evaluate the likelihood of default by the Company and its counterparties. As of March 31, 2017, the Company has assessed the significance of the impact of the credit valuation adjustments on the overall valuation of its derivative positions and has determined that the credit valuation adjustment is not significant to the overall value of the derivatives. As such, the Company classifies its derivative liabilities valuation in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

As part of the acquisition of Tower Cloud on August 31, 2016, we may be obligated to pay contingent consideration upon achievement of certain defined operational and financial milestones; therefore, we recorded the estimated fair value of future contingent consideration of $98.6 million as of August 31, 2016. The fair value of the contingent consideration as of August 31, 2016, was determined using a discounted cash flow model and probability adjusted estimates of the future earnings and is classified as Level 3. During the three months ended March 31, 2017, we paid $18.8 million for the achievement of certain milestones in accordance with the Tower Cloud merger agreement. Changes in the fair value of contingent consideration will be recorded in our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income in the period in which the change occurs. There was a $10.9 million increase in the fair value of the contingent consideration as of March 31, 2017 that was recorded in Other expenses on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income during the three months ended March 31, 2017.

The following is a roll forward of our liability measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (Level 3):

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Continued

(unaudited)

Note 5. Property, Plant and Equipment

The carrying value of property, plant and equipment is as follows:

Depreciation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 was $98.9 million and $85.5 million, respectively.

Note 6. Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

The Company uses derivative instruments to mitigate the effects of interest rate volatility inherent in our variable rate debt, which could unfavorably impact our future earnings and forecasted cash flows. The Company does not use derivative instruments for speculative or trading purposes.

On April 27, 2015, we entered into fixed for floating interest rate swap agreements to mitigate the interest rate risk inherent in our variable rate Senior Secured Term Loan B facility. These interest rate swaps are designated as cash flow hedges and have a notional value of $2.12 billion and mature on October 24, 2022. The weighted average fixed rate paid is 2.105%, and the variable rate received resets monthly to the one-month LIBOR subject to a minimum rate of 1.0%. The Company does not currently have any master netting arrangements related to its derivative contracts.

The following table summarizes the fair value and the presentation in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet:

As of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, all of the interest rate swaps were valued in net unrealized loss positions and recognized as liability balances within the derivative liability balance. For the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, the amount recorded in other comprehensive income related to the unrealized loss on derivative instruments was $7.1 million and $46.4 million, respectively. The amount reclassified out of other comprehensive income into interest expense on our Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 was $11.6 million and $5.9 million, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, there was no ineffective portion of the change in fair value derivatives.

Amounts reported in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) related to derivatives will be reclassified to interest expense as interest payments are made on our variable-rate debt. During the next twelve months, beginning April 1, 2017, we estimate that $28.4 million will be reclassified as an increase to interest expense.

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Continued

(unaudited)

Note 7. Goodwill and Intangible Assets and Liabilities

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill occurring during the three months ended March 31, 2017, are as follows:

The carrying value of the intangible assets is as follows:

Amortization expense for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 was $2.5 million and $0.8 million, respectively.

Amortization expense is estimated to be $8.7 million for the full year of 2017, $8.1 million in 2018, $7.5 million in 2019, $7.0 million in 2020, $6.5 million in 2021.

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Continued

(unaudited)

Note 8. Notes and Other Debt

Notes and other debt is as follows:

Notes and other debt at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 consisted of the following:

At March 31, 2017, we had outstanding: (i) $2.1 billion under our senior secured term loan B facility that matures on October 24, 2022 (“Term Loan Facility”); (ii) $550.0 million aggregate principal amount of 6.00% Senior Secured Notes due April 15, 2023 (the “Secured Notes”); (iii) $1.11 billion aggregate principal amount of 8.25% Senior Notes due October 15, 2023 (the “2023 Notes”); and (iv) $400 million aggregate principal amount of 7.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due December 15, 2024 (the “2024 Notes”).

Credit Agreement

On April 24, 2015 the Company and CSL Capital, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a credit agreement (the “Credit Agreement”), which provides for the Term Loan Facility (in an initial principal amount of $2.14 billion) and a $500 million senior secured revolving credit facility maturing April 24, 2020 (the “Revolving Credit Facility” and, together with the Term Loan Facility, the “Facilities”). On October 21, 2016, the Company and CSL Capital amended the Credit Agreement to, among other things, replace the then outstanding principal amounts of the term loans thereunder with a like aggregate amount of new term loans having substantially similar terms as the then outstanding term loans, other than with respect to the applicable interest rate marigin and the period of time for which prepayment premiums in respect of certain repricing transactions apply. On February 9, 2017, we again repriced the term loans decreasing the interest rate margin by an additional 50 basis points. The term loans now bear interest at a rate equal to LIBOR, subject to a 1.0% floor, plus an applicable margin equal to 3.00%, and are subject to amortization of 1.0% per annum. The loans have been incurred by the Company and CSL Capital, are guaranteed by certain of Uniti’s wholly-owned subsidiaries (the “Guarantors”), and are secured by substantially all of the assets of Uniti, CSL Capital and the Guarantors, subject to certain exceptions, which assets also secure the Secured Notes. The Revolving Credit Facility bears interest at a rate equal to LIBOR plus 1.75% to 2.25% based on our consolidated secured leverage ratio, as defined in the Credit Agreement.

We are subject to customary covenants under the Credit Agreement, including an obligation to maintain a consolidated secured leverage ratio, as defined in the Credit Agreement, not to exceed 5.00 to 1.00. We are permitted, subject to customary conditions, to incur incremental term loan borrowings and/or increased commitments under the Credit Agreement in an aggregate amount equal to $150 million plus, an unlimited amount, so long as, on a pro forma basis after giving effect to any such increases, our consolidated total leverage ratio, as defined in the Credit Agreement, does not exceed 6.50 to 1.00 and our consolidated secured leverage ratio, as defined in the Credit Agreement, does not exceed 4.00 to 1.00. In addition, the Credit Agreement contains customary events of default, including a cross default provision whereby the failure by the Company or certain of its subsidiaries to make payments under other debt obligations, or the occurrence of certain events affecting those other borrowing arrangements, could trigger an obligation to

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Continued

(unaudited)

repay any amounts outstanding under the Credit Agreement. In particular, a repayment obligation could be triggered if (i) the Company or certain of its subsidiaries fails to make a payment when due of a ny principal or interest on any other indebtedness aggregating $75.0 million or more, or (ii) an event occurs that causes, or would permit the holders of any other indebtedness aggregating $75.0 million or more to cause, such indebtedness to become due pri or to its stated maturity. As of March 31, 2017, we were in compliance with all of the covenants under the Credit Agreement.

The Notes

On April 24, 2015, we, along with CSL Capital, co-issued $400 million aggregate principal amount of the Secured Notes and $1.11 billion aggregate principal amount of the 2023 Notes (together the “Notes”). The Secured Notes were issued at an issue price of 100% of par value, while the 2023 Notes were issued at an issue price of 97.055% of par value. The Notes are guaranteed by the Guarantors. The Notes were issued to Windstream Services as partial consideration for the contribution of the Distribution Systems and the Consumer CLEC Business in connection with the Spin-Off. As such, Uniti did not receive any proceeds from the issuance of the Notes. The issuance of the Notes and their exchange by Windstream Services for certain of its outstanding indebtedness were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), but were exempt from registration under Rule 144A, Regulation S and other applicable exemptions of the Securities Act. Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into by the Company in connection with the sale of the 2023 Notes, the Company subsequently filed with the SEC a registration statement relating to an exchange offer pursuant to which 8.25% Senior Notes due 2023 that were registered with the SEC (the “Exchange Notes”) were offered in exchange for 2023 Notes tendered by the holders of those notes. The terms of the Exchange Notes were substantially identical to the terms of the 2023 Notes in all material respects, except that the Exchange Notes were registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and the transfer restrictions, registration rights and additional interest provision applicable to the 2023 Notes do not apply to the Exchange Notes. On January 3, 2017, we filed a Form 15 with the SEC as notice of the suspension of responsibility to file reports with the SEC with respect to the Exchange Notes.

On June 9, 2016, we, along with CSL Capital, co-issued an additional $150 million aggregate principal amount of 6.00% Senior Secured Notes (the “add-on Notes”) as an add-on to the Company’s existing Secured Notes. The add-on Notes were issued at an issue price of 99.25% of par value, are subject to the same customary covenant requirements as the existing Secured Notes, and are guaranteed by the Guarantors. The issuance of the add-on Notes was not registered under the Securities Act, but was exempt from registration under Rule 144A, Regulation S and other applicable exemptions of the Securities Act. Proceeds from the issuance of the add-on Notes were used to repay existing borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility.

On December 15, 2016, we, along with CSL Capital, co-issued $400 million aggregate principal amount of the 2024 Notes . The 2024 Notes were issued at an issue price of 100% of par value and are guaranteed by the Guarantors. The issuance of the 2024 Notes was not registered under the Securities Act, but was exempt from registration under Rule 144A, Regulation S and other applicable exemptions of the Securities Act. Proceeds from the issuance of the 2024 Notes were used to repay existing borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Deferred Financing Cost

Deferred financing costs were incurred in connection with the issuance of the Notes, the add-on Notes and the 2024 Notes and the Facilities. These costs are amortized using the effective interest method over the term of the related indebtedness, and are included in interest expense in our Consolidated Statement of Income. For the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016, we recognized $2.5 million and $1.8 million of non-cash interest expense, respectively, related to the amortization of deferred financing costs.

Note 9. Related Party Transactions

In connection with the Spin-Off, we issued approximately 149.8 million shares of our common stock to Windstream Services as partial consideration for the contribution of the Distribution Systems and the Consumer CLEC Business. Windstream Holdings distributed approximately 80.4% of the Uniti shares it received to existing stockholders of Windstream Holdings and retained a passive ownership interest of approximately 19.6% of the common stock of Uniti. As a result of this ownership Windstream was deemed to be a related party.

On June 15, 2016, Windstream Holdings disposed of 14.7 million shares of our common stock, representing approximately half of its retained ownership interest. On June 24, 2016, Windstream Holdings disposed of its remaining 14.7 million shares of our common stock as part of a public offering. The Company did not receive any proceeds resulting from the disposition of these shares.

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Continued

(unaudited)

Accordingly, effective as of June 24, 2016, Windstream is no longer deemed a related party under applicable accounting regulations. Our condensed consolidated financial statements reflect the following transactions with Windstream during the periods in which Windstream was deemed a related party.

Revenues – The Company records leasing revenue pursuant to the Master Lease. For the three months ended March 31, 2016, we recognized leasing revenues of $168.6 million related to the Master Lease.

General and Administrative Expenses – We were party to a Transition Services Agreement (“TSA”) pursuant to which Windstream and its affiliates provided, on an interim basis, various services, including but not limited to information technology services, payment processing and collection services, financial and tax services, regulatory compliance and other support services. On April 1, 2016, the TSA terminated and we incurred $19,000 of related TSA expense for the three months ended March 31, 2016.

Operating Expenses – We are party to a Wholesale Master Services Agreement (“Wholesale Agreement”) and a Master Services Agreement with Windstream related to the Consumer CLEC Business. Under the Wholesale Agreement, Windstream provides us transport services (local and long distance telecommunications service), provisioning services (directory assistance, directory listing, service activation and service changes), and repair services (routine and emergency network maintenance, network audits and network security). Under the Master Services Agreement, Windstream provides billing and collections services to Uniti. During the three months ended March 31, 2016, we incurred expenses of $3.4 million and $0.4 million related to the Wholesale Agreement and Master Services Agreement, respectively.

Employee Matters Agreement – We are party to an Employee Matters Agreement (“Employee Matters Agreement”) with Windstream that governs the respective compensation and employee benefit obligations of the Company and Windstream in connection with and following the Spin-Off. Under the Employee Matters Agreement, if requested by a Windstream employee, the Company is required to withhold shares to satisfy the employee’s tax obligations arising from the recognition of income and the vesting of shares related to awards of Uniti restricted stock held by the employee that were granted in connection with the Spin-Off. In that case, the Company must pay to Windstream an amount of cash equal to the amount required to be withheld to satisfy minimum statutory tax withholding obligations or, at the request of Windstream, remit such cash directly to the applicable taxing authorities. During the three months ended March 31, 2016, we withheld 91,412 common shares to satisfy these minimum statutory tax-withholding obligations and delivered $1.3 million to Windstream for remittance to the applicable taxing authorities.

Lease Amendment – During the quarter ended March 31, 2016, we amended the Master Lease with Windstream (the “Master Lease Amendment”) to allow for the transfer of ownership rights or exchanges of indefeasible rights of use (an “IRU”) and other long term rights in certain fiber and associated assets constituting leased property under the Master Lease. We will enter into such transactions pursuant to certain fiber exchange agreements under which we will grant to a third party ownership rights in certain fiber assets or an IRU in certain fiber assets that constitute leased property under the Master Lease in exchange for Uniti receiving ownership rights in certain fiber assets or an IRU in certain fiber assets of the third party, which we will then lease to Windstream as leased property under the Master Lease . Under the terms of the Master Lease Amendment, Windstream is responsible for any taxes imposed on Uniti related to the sale, exchange or other disposition of the fiber assets delivered to a third party or the granting of rights to the leased property that arise from fiber exchange agreements. As of March 31, 2016, no such transactions had been consummated. The Master Lease Amendment also permits us to install, own and operate certain wireless communication towers, antennas and related equipment on designated portions of the leased property .

Note 10. Earnings Per Share

Our restricted stock awards are considered participating securities as they receive non-forfeitable rights to dividends at the same rate as common stock. As participating securities, we included these instruments in the computation of earnings per share under the two-class method described in FASB ASC 260, Earnings per Share .

We also have outstanding performance-based restricted stock units that contain forfeitable rights to receive dividends. Therefore, the awards are considered non-participating restrictive shares and are not dilutive under the two-class method until performance conditions are met.

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Uniti Group Inc.

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements – Continued

(unaudited)

The earnings per share impact of the Company’s 3% Convertible Preferred Stock, $0.0001 par value (“Series A Shares”), issued in connection with the acquisition of PEG Bandwidth, LLC, is calculated using the net share settlement method, whereby the redemption value of the instrument is assumed to be settled in cash and only the conversion premium, if any, is assumed to be settled in shares. The Series A Shares pro vide Uniti the option to cash or share settle the instrument, and it is our policy to settle the instrument in cash upon conversion.

The following sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share under the two-class method: