The Path Forward

We continue to take deliberate actions to optimize our cost structure, improve financial performance, and position the company to deliver sustainable value. We are pleased to have reached an agreement with creditors to extend maturities and give the company more runway for our turnaround. We believe our proactive approach to refinance our debt and divest parts of our business will improve our agility and efficiency, enabling us to better compete in the markets we serve.

Any decision we take that affects our employee base we do not take lightly. Despite the progress we have made to date, we need to deliver results more quickly. We value the tremendous contributions of our colleagues who have paved the road for our next chapter of growth and are committed to supporting them as we reshape the company.

We have a purposeful journey ahead, and we are confident in our future.

• Lumen is transforming for growth, and we have taken deliberate steps to place Lumen on a path to growth by refinancing our debt and optimizing our cost structure.
• The agreement we reached with our creditors gives the company even more runway for our turnaround.
• As part of our transformation, we have also made the difficult decision to reshape our business and reduce our workforce.
• We did not make this decision lightly and are taking many steps to care for our employees who will be leaving the business.
• We announced our divestiture of the EMEA business a year ago and our teams have been working hard to close the deal.
• We are excited about our partnership with Colt and proud of the teams working on the announcement, which we expect to close as soon as Nov. 1.
• Our proactive approach to addressing our debt maturities, divesting parts of our business, and creating strong partnerships across the globe will help us drive focus.
• Overall, we expect these steps will accelerate our transformation.
• We have a purposeful journey ahead, and we are confident in our future. 

Q&As

You recently filed multiple 8-Ks, and a 10-Q [and are close to closing your Colt transaction]. What is happening with Lumen?

• Lumen is in a deep transformation, and we have taken deliberate steps to put Lumen on a path to growth by refinancing our debt and optimizing our cost structure.
• The agreement we reached with our creditors gives the company even more runway for our turnaround.
• In addition, Colt and Lumen have established a strategic relationship that will enable Lumen to continue to deliver a seamless experience for our multinational customers with needs in EMEA.
• We have also made the difficult decision to reshape our business and reduce our workforce.
• Our proactive approach to addressing our debt maturities, divesting parts of our business, and creating strong partnerships across the globe will help us drive focus.
• We have a purposeful journey ahead, and we are confident in our future.
• Overall, we expect these steps will accelerate our transformation.

What does this mean about the state of Lumen’s business operations?

• We are reshaping our structure to support our business model and growth moving forward.
• We will continue to transform our operations and product portfolio.
• We believe we have strengthened our financial position while sharpening our strategic focus.
• We have a purposeful journey ahead, and we are confident in our future.

What does this mean about Lumen’s financial situation?

• We believe we are in a strong position from both a cash and debt perspective.
• We expect to see revenue and EBITDA stabilization by the end of 2024, and growth after that.
• Our path forward continues to be simplifying the business, strengthening our financials, and transforming Lumen.

What does this mean for vendors and business partners?

• Lumen continues to take deliberate actions to optimize its cost structure, improve financial performance, and position the company to deliver sustainable value.
• We’re continuing to operate as usual and are focused on working as a team to meet and exceed our customers’ expectations.
• We value our relationship and look forward to continuing our work with you.

What does this mean for customers?

• We’re continuing to operate as usual and are laser-focused on meeting your needs.
• Our global value proposition remains unchanged: We will continue to meet your application and data needs.
• We have a purposeful journey ahead, and we are confident in our future. Thank you for your continued support.

What happens next?

• In terms of next steps, we anticipate that the ratings agencies could temporarily downgrade Lumen’s rating or put the company in selective default as we continue through the process of executing the transaction.
• There is no actual “default.”  This is fairly typical for such situations, which the agencies apply based on their criteria for similar situations of large-scale debt exchanges.
• We expect any potential rating change to be temporary, and the rating agencies will reassess our ratings once our agreement with our creditors is executed.
• Importantly, this does not affect our agreement, our employees, or our ability to meet our obligations. It also has no impact on how we will continue working with our customers and business partners.
• Our path forward continues to be simplifying the business, strengthening our financials, and transforming Lumen.