AT&T Rallies as Windstream Shows Blueprint for Paring Taxes
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AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. led a rally in phone stocks after Windstream Holdings Inc. announced plans for a spinoff that provides a blueprint companies could use to reduce their tax bills.
Windstream plans to turn its copper and fiber networks, along with other assets, into a publicly traded real estate investment trust, or REIT, which doesn’t have to pay federal income taxes. The deal will let Windstream reduce its debt and free up cash to invest in faster broadband speeds, the Little Rock, Arkansas-based company said today.