Windstream 2011 Annual Report Download - page 76

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Dividend
Our board of directors maintains a practice of paying quarterly dividends of $0.25 per common share, which equates to a $1 per
common share dividend each year. Based on our closing stock price on February 16, 2012, this dividend represents an 8.0
percent yield. This practice can be changed at any time at the discretion of the board of directors. See Item 1A, “Risk Factors”.
However, we are committed to maintaining the financial resources sufficient to fund this current dividend practice while
building a company with solid growth prospects.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
We have completed a number of mergers and acquisitions in the last five years. Most notably, we completed a series of strategic
acquisitions which have assisted in the transformation of our company from a traditional telephone company into an advanced
communications and technology service provider focused on business customers. These acquisitions included PAETEC, Q-
Comm, Hosted Solutions and NuVox; the reasons for these acquisitions and their meaning to our operations are discussed in the
preceding section.
The following acquisitions were also important steps in the evolution of our company. Although each involved traditional
telephone companies, with a profile similar to ours prior to the transformative acquisitions noted above, each acquisition
provided us increased scale, significant synergies and expanded operating presence in contiguous markets.
Iowa Telecom - On June 1, 2010, we completed the acquisition of Iowa Telecom, a regional communications services provider.
This acquisition added 247,000 voice lines, 96,000 high-speed Internet customers and 25,000 video customers in Iowa and
Minnesota. Iowa Telecom expanded our operating presence in contiguous markets in the midwestern United States.
Lexcom - On December 1, 2009, we completed the acquisition of Lexcom, a local communications company in Lexington,
North Carolina. The transaction added approximately 22,000 voice lines, 9,000 high-speed Internet customers and 12,000 cable
television customers.
D&E Communications - On November 10, 2009, we completed a merger with D&E Communications. The transaction added
approximately 145,000 voice lines, 45,000 high-speed Internet customers and 9,000 cable television customers in
Pennsylvania.
CT Communications - On August 31, 2007, we completed the acquisition of CT Communications, a local communications
company based in Concord, North Carolina. The acquisition added approximately 132,000 voice lines and 31,000 high-speed
Internet customers.
PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
We offer a robust portfolio of products and services to meet the communications and technology needs of our customers. Our
basic offerings are outlined below, based on the types of customer we serve.
Business
We believe advanced communications and technology services required by today's businesses present our most substantial
opportunity for growth. As such, we are committed to offering a diverse range of customizable services and communications
systems to meet the needs of our business customers.
Our integrated services deliver voice and data services over a single connection, which helps our business customers manage
costs. Integrated services dynamically manage voice and data usage as volume dictates. These services are delivered over an
Internet connection, as opposed to a traditional voice line, and can be managed through equipment at the customer premise or
through hosted equipment options.
Our business data services include the following key service offerings:
• Multi-site networking: Our advanced network provides private, secure multi-site connections for large businesses
with multiple locations.
• High-speed Internet access services: We provide reliable broadband Internet access, including high-speed T1,
Dedicated Internet and Ethernet Internet options. We also offer low cost, high-speed broadband Internet access for
reliable connections at speeds up to 24 megabits per second ("Mbps").