Planned Divestiture Of Northwest Operations

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 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. 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 ASC 360. The Company also separately classified the related assets and liabilities of the business as held-for-sale in its December 31, 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 $446 million during 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 December 31, 2019 are as follows:

($ in millions)	December 31, 2019
ASSETS

Accounts receivable, less allowances of $11	$	46
Prepaid expenses		1
Contract acquisition costs		9
Other current assets		3
Property, plant and equipment, net		1,049
Goodwill ⁽¹⁾		658
Other intangibles, net		30
Other assets		26
Valuation allowance on assets held for sale		(421	)
Total assets held for sale	$	1,401

LIABILITIES

Accounts payable	$	12
Advanced billings		18
Accrued other taxes		6
Other current liabilities		18
Pension and other postretirement benefits ⁽²⁾		29
Other liabilities		40
Total liabilities held for sale	$	123

⁽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 $163 million, which will be fully funded upon closing. Approximately $98 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.