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Planned Divestiture Of Northwest Operations
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Planned Divestiture Of Northwest Operations [Abstract]  
Planned Divestiture Of Northwest Operations (7) Planned divestiture of Northwest Operations:

In May 2019, Frontier entered into a definitive agreement to sell its operations and associated assets in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana (Northwest Operations) for $1,352 million, subject to certain closing adjustments, including adjustments for working capital and certain pension and retiree medical liabilities. The sale is expected to close during the first half of 2020, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals. In connection with the sale, Frontier has entered into a transition services agreement with the purchaser to provide various network and support services for a minimum of six months following the transaction closing.

This transaction does not represent a strategic shift for Frontier; therefore, it does not meet the criteria to be classified as a discontinued operation. As a result, the Northwest Operations will continue to be reported in our operating results until the sale is finalized.

Effective with the designation as held-for-sale on May 28, 2019, we discontinued recording depreciation on Property, Plant and Equipment and finite-lived intangible assets of this business as required by the accounting rules. The Company also separately classified the related assets and liabilities of the business as held-for-sale in its September 30, 2019 consolidated balance sheet.

As a result of its evaluation of the recoverability of the carrying value of the assets and liabilities held for sale relative to the agreed upon sales price, adjusted for costs to sell, Frontier recorded an estimated loss on disposal of $414 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 in its consolidated statement of operations and a valuation allowance included in assets held for sale on its consolidated balance sheet.

The principal components of the held-for-sale assets and liabilities as of September 30, 2019 are as follows:

($ in millions)

September 30, 2019

ASSETS

Accounts receivable, less allowances of $7

$

51 

Prepaid expenses

2 

Contract acquisition costs

10 

Other current assets

3 

Property, plant and equipment, net

1,021 

Goodwill (1)

658 

Other intangibles, net

30 

Other assets

26 

Valuation allowance on assets held for sale

(399)

Total assets held for sale

$

1,402 

LIABILITIES

Accounts payable

$

10 

Advanced billings

18 

Accrued other taxes

13 

Other current liabilities

23 

Pension and other postretirement benefits (2)

30 

Other liabilities

40 

Total liabilities held for sale

$

134 

(1)The assignment of goodwill was based on the relative fair value of the disposal group and the portion of the remaining reporting unit.

(2)Excludes pension liability of $146 million, which will be fully funded upon closing. Approximately $87 million, or 60% of the pension liability will be funded through the transfer of Pension Plan assets. The remaining liability will be separately funded by Frontier at the time of closing.