Lumen Technologies Unit Completes $2 Billion 2034 First Lien Notes Offering

Lumen Technologies unit has closed a $2 billion offering of 2034 first lien notes. The company, a facilities-based technology and communications provider, operates in two segments: Business and Mass Markets. Its Business segment offers dark fiber, edge cloud services, and other products and services to enterprise and commercial customers, while its Mass Markets segment provides fiber broadband, other broadband, and voice and other services to residential and small business customers.

Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LUMN), a leading facilities-based technology and communications provider, has closed a $2 billion offering of 2034 first lien notes. The company operates in two segments: Business and Mass Markets. The Business segment offers dark fiber, edge cloud services, and other products and services to enterprise and commercial customers, while the Mass Markets segment provides fiber broadband, other broadband, and voice and other services to residential and small business customers [1].

The company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Level 3 Financing, Inc., issued the notes with a maturity date of March 31, 2034. The notes are guaranteed and secured on a first lien basis by Level 3 Parent, LLC, the direct parent of Level 3 Financing, and certain unregulated subsidiaries of the Issuer. The net proceeds from the offering, along with cash on hand, were used to redeem all $1,408,435,434 aggregate principal amount of Level 3 Financing’s 11.000% Senior Secured Notes due 2029 and to partially redeem $305,367,000 aggregate principal of Level 3 Financing’s 10.750% First Lien Notes due 2030, including payment of redemption premium, and to pay related fees and expenses [1].

This latest transaction is part of Lumen’s ongoing financial strategy to simplify its capital structure, extend maturities, and lower overall borrowing costs. The move aims to generate meaningful interest expense savings and greater financial flexibility, thereby strengthening the company’s ability to deliver high-performance, secure, and agile digital network services that enterprises and public sector organizations need to unlock the full potential of AI [1].

Chris Stansbury, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Lumen Technologies, commented, "This financing is a clear vote of market confidence in our strategy and our future. We are executing with discipline to lower our interest expense, extend our maturity runway, and free up capital to invest in growth. Every step we take strengthens Lumen’s position as the partner enterprises trust to power their most critical workloads in the AI-powered economy" [1].

The first lien notes are not and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws in the United States and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from the applicable registration requirements. Accordingly, the notes were offered and sold only to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A promulgated under the Securities Act and to non-U.S. persons outside the United States in accordance with Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act [1].

References:
[1] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250818030356/en/Lumen-Technologies-Further-Enhances-Capital-Structure-to-Power-AI-Era-Network-Expansion