The Firm is representing J.P. Morgan Securities LLC as financial advisor to Uniti Group Inc. (NASDAQ: UNIT) (“Uniti”) in connection with Uniti’s merger with Windstream Holdings II, LLC (“Windstream”). Upon closing of the transaction, existing Uniti shareholders will own approximately 62% of the common equity of the combined company. Existing Windstream shareholders will receive $425 million of cash, $575 million of preferred equity in the new combined company, and common shares representing approximately 38% of the outstanding common equity of the combined company. Windstream shareholders will additionally receive non-voting warrants to acquire up to 6.9% of common shares of the combined company. Closing of the merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals and approval by Uniti shareholders.~~Uniti is an internally managed real estate investment trust engaged in the acquisition and construction of mission critical communications infrastructure. Based in Little Rock, Arkansas, Uniti provides fiber and other wireless solutions for the communications industry. Also based in Little Rock, Arkansas, Windstream provides fiber-based broadband to residential and small business customers in 18 states, managed cloud communications, networking and security services for mid-to-large enterprises and government entities across the U.S., and customized wavelength and dark fiber solutions for carriers, content providers and hyperscalers in the U.S. and Canada.~~The Simpson Thacher team includes Jakob Rendtorff, James Crisp and Christopher Flynn (M&A).