UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):  June 24, 2016 (June 21, 2016)

Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o       Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o       Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o  Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o   Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 8.01 Other Events.

On June 24, 2016, Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc. (the “Company”) closed its previously announced underwritten public offering of 14,681,071 shares (the “Underwritten Shares”) of the Company’s common stock sold by Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“Citigroup”), as selling shareholder, and 2,202,160 shares (the “Option Shares”) of the Company’s common stock sold by the Company. The Company did not receive any proceeds from the disposition of the Underwritten Shares in this offering. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the sale of the Option Shares for general corporate purposes, including acquisitions. Pending such usage, the Company may apply such proceeds to reduce revolving credit indebtedness. Prior to the closing of the offering, Windstream Holdings, Inc. (“Windstream”), the Company’s former parent company, exchanged the Underwritten Shares (which constituted its entire remaining position in the Company’s common stock) for the satisfaction of certain indebtedness of Windstream with certain creditors in a debt-for-equity exchange. Following the debt-for-equity exchange, Citigroup acquired the Underwritten Shares from such creditors and sold those Underwritten Shares pursuant to this offering.

In connection with the offering, the Company entered into an underwriting agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”), dated June 21, 2016, with Citigroup, as selling shareholder, and Citigroup, as representative of the several underwriters named therein (the “Underwriters”), pursuant to which Citigroup agreed to sell the Underwritten Shares to the Underwriters and the Company granted the Underwriters the option to purchase the Option Shares. On June 21, 2016, the Underwriters notified the Company of their election to exercise such option in full pursuant to the terms of the Underwriting Agreement.

A copy of the Underwriting Agreement is filed herewith as Exhibit 1.1 and is incorporated herein by reference. A copy of the Underwriting Agreement has been included to provide security holders with information regarding its terms. It is not intended to provide any other factual information about the Company or Citigroup. Security holders are not third-party beneficiaries under the Underwriting Agreement and should not rely on the representations, warranties and covenants or any descriptions thereof as characterizations of the actual state of facts or condition of the Company.

In connection with the offering, the following exhibits are filed with this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated by reference in the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-212046), previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, relating to the offering: (i) the Underwriting Agreement (Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K); and (ii) the legal opinion of Kutak Rock LLP (including the consent of Kutak Rock LLP) (Exhibit 5.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K).

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

2

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: June 24, 2016

3

EXHIBIT INDEX

4

Exhibit 1.1

Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc.

14,681,071 Shares
Common Stock
($0.0001 par value)

Underwriting Agreement

New York, New York
June 21, 2016

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

As Representative of the several Underwriters,

c/o Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
388 Greenwich Street
New York, New York 10013

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The stockholder named in Schedule II hereto (the “Selling Stockholder”) proposes to sell to the several underwriters named in Schedule I hereto (the “Underwriters”), for whom Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (the “Representative”) is acting as representatives, 14,681,071 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value, of Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc. a corporation organized under the laws of Maryland (the “Company”), (“Common Stock”) (said shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder being hereinafter called the “Underwritten Securities”). In addition, the Company proposes to grant to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to 2,202,160 additional shares of Common Stock (the “Option Securities”; the Option Securities, together with the Underwritten Securities, being hereinafter called the “Securities”). To the extent there are no additional Underwriters listed on Schedule I other than you, the term Representative as used herein shall mean you, as Underwriters, and the terms Representatives and Underwriters shall mean either the singular or plural as the context requires.  In addition, to the extent that there is not more than one Selling Stockholder named in Schedule II, the term Selling Stockholder shall mean either the singular or plural.  The use of the neuter in this underwriting agreement (the “Agreement”) shall include the feminine and masculine wherever appropriate.  Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 12 of Form S-3 which were filed under the Exchange Act on or before the Effective Date of the Registration Statement or the issue date of the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be; and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement, the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing of any document under the Exchange Act after the Effective Date of the Registration Statement or the issue date of the Base Prospectus, any Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be,

deemed to be incorporated therein by reference.  Certain terms used herein are defined in Section 20 hereof.

1.                                      Representations and Warranties.

(i)                                     The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each Underwriter and the Selling Stockholder as set forth below in this Section 1.

(a)                                 The Company meets the requirements for use of Form S-3 under the Act and has prepared and filed with the Commission a registration statement (file number 333-212046) on Form S-3, including a related Base Prospectus, for registration under the Act of the offering and sale of the Securities.  Such Registration Statement, including any amendments thereto filed prior to the Execution Time, became effective upon filing. No order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued by the Commission, and no proceeding for that purpose or pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act against the Company or related to the offering of the Securities has been initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened by the Commission. The Company may have filed one or more amendments thereto, including a related preliminary prospectus supplement, each of which has previously been furnished to you.  The Company will file with the Commission a final prospectus in accordance with Rule 424(b).  As filed, such final prospectus supplement shall contain all information required by the Act and the rules thereunder. The initial Effective Date of the Registration Statement was not earlier than the date three years before the Execution Time.

(b)                                 On each Effective Date and at the Execution Time, the Registration Statement did, and when the Prospectus is first filed in accordance with Rule 424(b) and on the Closing Date (as defined herein) and on any date on which Option Securities are purchased, if such date is not the Closing Date (a “settlement date”), the Prospectus (and any supplement thereto) will, comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Act and the rules thereunder; on each Effective Date, at the Execution Time and on the Closing Date, the Registration Statement did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading; and on the date of any filing pursuant to Rule 424(b) and on the Closing Date and any settlement date, the Prospectus (together with any supplement thereto) will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the Company makes no representations or warranties as to the information contained in or omitted from the Registration Statement, or the Prospectus (or any supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of (i) any Underwriter through the Representative specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, it being understood and agreed that the only such information

furnished by or on behalf of any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 8 hereof, or (ii) the Selling Stockholder specifically for inclusion in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, it being understood and agreed that the name of such Selling Stockholder and the number of Securities offered by such Selling Stockholder in the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus constitute the only information furnished in writing by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholder for inclusion in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus (the “Selling Stockholder Information”).

(c)                                  (i) The Disclosure Package, when taken together as a whole, and (ii) each electronic road show, when taken together as a whole with the Disclosure Package, does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the preceding sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from the Disclosure Package based upon and in conformity with (i) the information furnished in writing to the Company by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the Representative specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by or on behalf of any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 8 hereof or (ii) the Selling Stockholder Information.

(d)                                 (i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), (iii) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c)) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption in Rule 163 and (iv) at the Execution Time (with such date being used as the determination date for purposes of this clause (iv)), the Company was or is (as the case may be) a Well-Known Seasoned Issuer. The Company agrees to pay the fees required by the Commission relating to the Securities within the time required by Rule 456(b)(1) without regard to the proviso therein and otherwise in accordance with Rules 456(b) an 457(r).

(e)                                  Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus does not include any information that conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement, including any document incorporated by reference therein that has not been superseded or modified. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus based upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company (i) by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the Representative specifically for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by or on behalf of any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in Section 8 hereof or (ii) the Selling Stockholder Information.

(f)                                   The documents incorporated by reference in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, when they become effective or when they were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such documents, when filed, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, when such documents are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder then in effect and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

(g)                                  The interactive data in the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (“XBRL”) included as an exhibit to or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto.

(h)                                 The accountants who certified the financial statements and supporting schedules of the Company included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement are independent public accountants with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the meaning of the 1933 Act and the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

(i)                                     The accountants who certified the financial statements of PEG Bandwidth, LLC (“PEG”) included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement were independent public accountants with respect to PEG and its subsidiaries, within the meaning of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants rules, at all times during the periods covered by the PEG financial statements audited or reviewed by them.

(j)                                    The financial statements of the Company, together with the related notes, included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The selected

financial data and the summary financial information included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein and have been compiled on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement. The pro forma financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries and the related notes thereto included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement, if any, present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein on the bases described therein, and the assumptions and adjustments contained therein are reasonable. The pro forma financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries and the related notes thereto included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement have been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines with respect to pro forma financial statements.

(k)                                 The historical financial statements of PEG, together with the related notes, included in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects the financial position of PEG and its consolidated subsidiaries at the dates indicated and the statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows of PEG and its consolidated subsidiaries for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved.

(l)                                     The Company has reviewed the audited financial statements of Tower Cloud Inc. (“Tower Cloud”) as of and for the year ended December 31, 2015 and has no reason to believe that such financials were not prepared in conformity with GAAP (other than as set forth in such financials) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved.  The Tower Cloud financial data included in the Disclosure Package and Prospectus have been properly derived from such financial statements.

(m)                             Since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto),  (A) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or properties of the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (B) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, and (C) subsequent to the announcement of a dividend of $.60 per share of Common Stock, payable on July 15, 2016 to holders of record on June 30, 2016, there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.

(n)                                 The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation, in good standing under the laws of the state of Maryland and has all

requisite power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement; the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(o)                                 Each “significant subsidiary” of the Company (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X under the Act (“Regulation S-X”)) (each a “Significant Subsidiary” and, collectively, the “Significant Subsidiaries”), has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation, limited partnership or limited liability company in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation or formation, as applicable, has corporate, limited partnership or limited liability company power and authority, as applicable, to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation, limited partnership or limited liability company to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify or to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; except as otherwise disclosed in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of, or other equity interests in, each Significant Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued, is fully paid and non-assessable and is owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, free and clear of any security interest, mortgage, pledge, lien, encumbrance, claim or equity; and none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of, or other equity interests in, the Significant Subsidiaries was issued in violation of any preemptive or similar rights of any securityholder of such Significant Subsidiary.

(p)                                 The authorized, issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company is as set forth in the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus. All the shares of issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company (including the shares to be sold by the Selling Stockholder) have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company was issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company. The Option Securities to be issued and sold by the Company to the Underwriters hereunder have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered against payment in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, will be validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable.

(q)                                 This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, when duly executed and delivered in accordance with its

terms by each of the other parties thereto, will constitute a valid and legally binding agreement of the Company enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as enforceability may be limited by applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally or by equitable principles relating to enforceability.

(r)                                    None of the Company or its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents or (ii) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which any of them may be bound, or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”), or (iii) in violation of any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their assets, properties or operations (including the Federal Communications Acts of 1934, as amended (including the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the “Communications Act”)), except, in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), for such violations or defaults that would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; and the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and any other agreement or instrument entered into or issued or to be entered into or issued by the Company in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby or in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action, or other necessary action as required by the Company’s formation documents, and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments or under any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of its assets, properties or operations (including the Communications Act), except as otherwise disclosed in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto) and except for such conflicts, breaches or defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that, singly or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of the charter or by-laws or similar organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government

instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of its assets, properties or operations. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

(s)                                   Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto), no labor dispute with the employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is imminent, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by the employees of any of its or any of its subsidiaries’ principal suppliers, customers or contractors, which, in either case, would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.

(t)                                    Except as disclosed in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto), there is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any court or governmental agency or body, domestic or foreign (including the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”)), now pending, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any of its subsidiaries which might reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, or which might materially and adversely affect the properties or assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder or thereunder.

(u)                                 Neither the Company nor any affiliate of the Company has taken, nor will the Company or any affiliate take, directly or indirectly, any action which is designed to or which has constituted or which would be expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.

(v)                                 The Company and its subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know-how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now operated by them in all material respects, and neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received any notice or is otherwise aware of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property or of any facts or circumstances which would render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any of its subsidiaries therein, and which infringement or conflict (if the subject of any unfavorable decision, ruling or

finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.

(w)                               Except as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, no filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency (including the FCC) is necessary or required for the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as have been already obtained and except for (1) such consents approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications as may be required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and under applicable state securities laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters and (2) such other consents, approvals, authorizations, orders, registrations or qualifications that have been or will be obtained or made on or prior to the Closing Date.

(x)                                 The Company and its subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by them, except where the failure so to possess would not, reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; the Company and its subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not, reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; all of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except where the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not, reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect; and none of the Company or its subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.

(y)                                 The Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title to all real property owned by the Company and its subsidiaries and good title to all other properties owned by them, free and clear of all mortgages, pledges, liens, security interests, claims, restrictions or encumbrances of any kind except (a) as is otherwise described in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto) or (b) as do not, singly or in the aggregate, materially affect the value of all such properties, taken as a whole, and do not interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such properties by the Company or any of its subsidiaries. The Master Lease (as defined in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus) is in full force and effect and is the valid and binding obligation of

CSL National, LP and the subsidiaries party thereto and, to the knowledge of the Company, each other party thereto, enforceable in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency (including, without limitation, all laws relating to fraudulent transfers or preferences), reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting enforcement of creditors’ rights generally and except as enforcement thereof is subject to general principles of equity (regardless of whether enforcement is considered in a proceeding in equity or at law).

(z)                                  Except as described in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto) and except such matters as would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect, (A) none of the Company or its subsidiaries is in violation of any federal, state, local or foreign statute, law, rule, regulation, ordinance, code, policy or rule of common law or any judicial or administrative interpretation thereof, including any judicial or administrative order, consent, decree or judgment, relating to pollution or protection of human health, the environment (including, without limitation, ambient air, surface water, groundwater, land surface or subsurface strata) or wildlife, including, without limitation, laws and regulations relating to the release or threatened release of pollutants, contaminants, wastes, toxic substances, hazardous substances, petroleum or petroleum products or asbestos containing materials (collectively, “Hazardous Materials”) or to the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, treatment, storage, disposal, transport or handling of Hazardous Materials (collectively, “Environmental Laws”), (B) the Company and its subsidiaries have all permits, authorizations and approvals required under any applicable Environmental Laws and are each in compliance with their requirements, (C) there are no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, administrative, regulatory or judicial actions, suits, demands, demand letters, claims, liens, notices of noncompliance or violation, investigation or proceedings relating to any Environmental Law against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of the respective properties (with respect to liens, only with respect to properties owned by the Company or any of its subsidiaries) and (D) there are no events or circumstances that would reasonably be expected to form the basis of an order for clean-up or remediation, or an action, suit or proceeding by any private party or governmental body or agency, against or affecting the Issuers or any of their subsidiaries relating to Hazardous Materials or Environmental Laws.

(aa)                          The Company and each of its subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is

taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the Disclosure Package and Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto), since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (1) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (2) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries employ disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer or officers and principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure.

(bb)                          There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any applicable provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications.

(cc)                            All United States federal income tax returns of each of the Company and its subsidiaries required by law to be filed have been filed and all taxes shown by such returns or otherwise assessed, which are due and payable, have been paid, except assessments against which appeals have been or will be promptly taken and as to which adequate reserves have been provided in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Each of the Company and its subsidiaries (i) has filed all other tax returns that are required to have been filed by them pursuant to applicable foreign, state, local or other law and (ii) has paid all taxes due pursuant to such returns or pursuant to any assessment received by the Company and its subsidiaries, except for such taxes, if any, as are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been provided in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, except, in the case of (i) and (ii), insofar as the failure to file such returns or pay such taxes due would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company in respect of any income and corporate tax liability for any years not finally determined are adequate to meet any assessments or re-assessments for additional income tax for any years not finally determined, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.

(dd)                          All statements regarding the Company’s qualification and taxation as a Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”) and descriptions of the Company’s

organization and proposed method of operation (inasmuch as they relate to the Company’s qualification and taxation as a REIT) set forth in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are true, complete and correct summaries of the legal or tax matters described therein in all material respects.

(ee)                            The Company and its subsidiaries carry or are entitled to the benefits of insurance, with financially sound and reputable insurers, in such amounts and covering such risks as is generally maintained by companies engaged in the same or similar business, and all such insurance is in full force and effect. The Company has no reason to believe that it or any subsidiary will not be able (A) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (B) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its respective business as now conducted and at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect.

(ff)                              Any statistical and market-related data included in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable.

(gg)                            The Company is not, and after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Option Securities as described in the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus will not be, required to register as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

(hh)                          Neither of the Company nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or controlled affiliate is aware of or has taken any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including, without limitation, making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, its affiliates have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.

(ii)                                  The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency

(collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

(jj)                                None of the Company, its subsidiaries, or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or controlled affiliate is currently the subject of any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of State (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company or any of its subsidiaries located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions.

(kk)                          No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) contained in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or the Registration Statement has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters in connection with the offering of the Securities shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company, as to matters covered thereby, to each Underwriter.

(ii)                                  Each Selling Stockholder represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each Underwriter that:

(a)                                 On or prior to the Closing Date, such Selling Stockholder will be the record and beneficial owner of the Underwritten Securities to be sold by it hereunder free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, equities and claims, and has full power and authority to sell its interest in the Securities, and, assuming that each Underwriter acquires its interest in the Securities it has purchased from such Selling Stockholder without notice of any adverse claim (within the meaning of Section 8-105 of the New York Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”)), each Underwriter that has purchased such Securities delivered on the Closing Date to The Depository Trust Company or other securities intermediary by making payment therefor as provided herein, and that has had such Securities credited to the securities account or accounts of such Underwriters maintained with The Depository Trust Company or such other securities intermediary will have acquired a security entitlement (within the meaning of Section 8-102(a)(17) of the UCC) to such Securities purchased by such Underwriter, and no action based on an adverse claim (within the meaning of Section 8-105 of the UCC) may be asserted against such Underwriter with respect to such Securities.

(b)                                 No consent, approval, authorization or order of any court or governmental agency or body is required for the consummation by such Selling Stockholder of the transactions contemplated herein, except (i) such as may have

been obtained under the Act (ii) such as may be required under the blue sky laws of any jurisdiction in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters (iii) such other approvals as have been obtained; and (iv) such consents, approvals, and authorizations the absence of which would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to prohibit or prevent consummation of the transactions contemplated herein.

(c)                                  Neither the sale of the Securities being sold by such Selling Stockholder nor the consummation of any other of the transactions herein contemplated by such Selling Stockholder or the fulfillment of the terms hereof by such Selling Stockholder will conflict with, result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under any law or the charter or by-laws of such Selling Stockholder or the terms of any indenture or other agreement or instrument to which such Selling Stockholder is a party or bound, or any judgment, order or decree applicable to such Selling Stockholder of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body or arbitrator having jurisdiction over such Selling Stockholder; except (other than with regard to the charter or by-laws of the Selling Stockholder) for such conflicts, breaches, or defaults that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to prohibit or prevent consummation of the transactions contemplated herein.

(d)                                 This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Selling Stockholder.

Any certificate signed by any officer of the Selling Stockholder and delivered to the Representative or counsel for the Underwriters in connection with the offering of the Securities shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Selling Stockholder, as to matters covered thereby, to each Underwriter.

2.                                      Purchase and Sale.  (a)  Subject to the terms and conditions and in reliance upon the representations and warranties herein set forth, the Selling Stockholder agrees to sell to each Underwriter, and each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Selling Stockholder, at a purchase price of $24.9011 per share, the amount of the Underwritten Securities set forth opposite such Underwriter’s name in Schedule I hereto.

(b)                                 Subject to the terms and conditions and in reliance upon the representations and warranties herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the several Underwriters to purchase, severally and not jointly, up to 2,202,160 Option Securities at the same purchase price per share as the Underwriters shall pay for the Underwritten Securities, less an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on a record date that is after the Closing Date and before the Additional Closing Date. Said option may be exercised in whole or in part at any time on or before the 30th day after the date of the Prospectus upon written or telegraphic notice by the Representative to the Company setting forth the number of shares of the Option Securities as to which the several Underwriters are exercising the option and the

settlement date. The maximum number of Option Securities to be sold by the Company is 2,202,160. The number of Option Securities to be purchased by each Underwriter shall be the same percentage of the total number of shares of the Option Securities to be purchased by the several Underwriters as such Underwriter is purchasing of the Underwritten Securities, subject to such adjustments as you in your absolute discretion shall make to eliminate any fractional shares.

3.                                      Delivery and Payment.  Delivery of and payment for the Underwritten Securities and the Option Securities (if the option provided for in Section 2(b) hereof shall have been exercised on or before the third Business Day immediately preceding the Closing Date) shall be made at 10:00 AM, New York City time, on June 24, 2016, or at such time on such later date not more than three Business Days after the foregoing date as the Representative shall designate, which date and time may be postponed by agreement among the Representative, the Company and the Selling Stockholder or as provided in Section 9 hereof (such date and time of delivery and payment for the Securities being herein called the “Closing Date”).  Delivery of the Securities shall be made to the Representative for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters against payment by the several Underwriters through the Representative of the respective aggregate purchase prices of the Securities being sold by the Company and the Selling Stockholder to or upon the order of the Company and Selling Stockholder by wire transfer payable in same-day funds to the accounts specified by the Company and Selling Stockholder as applicable.  Delivery of the Underwritten Securities and the Option Securities shall be made through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company unless the Representative shall otherwise instruct.

Each Selling Stockholder will pay all applicable state transfer taxes, if any, involved in the transfer to the several Underwriters of the Securities to be purchased by them from such Selling Stockholder and the respective Underwriters will pay any additional stock transfer taxes involved in further transfers.

If the option provided for in Section 2(b) hereof is exercised after the third Business Day immediately preceding the Closing Date, the Company will deliver the Option Securities (at the expense of the Company) to the Representative, at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York, on the date specified by the Representative (which shall be within three Business Days after exercise of said option) (the “Additional Closing Date”) for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters, against payment by the several Underwriters through the Representative of the purchase price thereof to or upon the order of Company by wire transfer payable in same-day funds to the account specified by the Company. If settlement for the Option Securities occurs after the Closing Date, the Company will deliver to the Representative on the Additional Closing Date, and the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase the Option Securities shall be conditioned upon receipt of, supplemental opinions, certificates and letters confirming as of such date the opinions, certificates and letters delivered on the Closing Date pursuant to Section 6 hereof.

4.                                      Offering by Underwriters.  It is understood that the several Underwriters propose to offer the Securities for sale to the public as set forth in the Prospectus.

5.                                      Agreements.

(i)                                     The Company agrees with the several Underwriters that:

(a)                                 Prior to the termination of the offering of the Securities, the Company will not file any amendment to the Registration Statement or supplement (including any Preliminary Prospectus or Prospectus, but excluding any Exchange Act reports incorporated by reference therein) to the Base Prospectus unless the Company has furnished a copy to the Representative for review prior to filing and will not file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which the Representative reasonably object. The Company will cause the Prospectus, properly completed, and any supplement thereto to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) within the time period prescribed.  The Company will promptly advise the Representative (i) when the Prospectus, and any supplement thereto, shall have been filed (if required) with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) (ii) when, prior to termination of the offering of the Securities, any amendment to the Registration Statement shall have been filed or become effective, (iii) of any request by the Commission or its staff for any amendment of the Registration Statement, or for any supplement to the Prospectus or for any additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or of any notice objecting to its use or the institution or threatening of any proceeding for that purpose and (v) of the receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for sale in any jurisdiction or the institution or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose.  The Company will use its best efforts to prevent the issuance of any such stop order or the occurrence of any such suspension or objection to the use of the Registration Statement and, upon such issuance, occurrence or notice of objection, to obtain as soon as possible the withdrawal of such stop order or relief from such occurrence or objection, including, if necessary, by filing an amendment to the Registration Statement or a new registration statement and using its best efforts to have such amendment or new registration statement declared effective as soon as practicable.

(b)                                 If, at any time prior to the filing of the Prospectus pursuant to Rule 424(b), any event occurs as a result of which the Disclosure Package would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein in the light of the circumstances under which they were made or the circumstances then prevailing not misleading, the Company will (i) notify promptly the Representative so that any use of the Disclosure Package may cease until it is amended or supplemented; (ii) amend or supplement the Disclosure Package to correct such statement or omission; and

(iii) supply any amendment or supplement to you in such quantities as you may reasonably request.

(c)                                  If, at any time when a prospectus relating to the Securities is required to be delivered under the Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172), any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then supplemented would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein in the light of the circumstances under which they were made at such time not misleading, or if it shall be necessary to amend the Registration Statement or supplement the Prospectus to comply with the Act or the rules thereunder, the Company promptly will (i) notify the Representative of any such event; (ii) prepare and file with the Commission, subject to the second sentence of paragraph (a) of this Section 5, an amendment or supplement which will correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; and (iii) supply any supplemented Prospectus to you in such quantities as you may reasonably request.

(d)                                 As soon as practicable, the Company will make generally available to its security holders and to the Representative an earnings statement or statements of the Company and its subsidiaries which will satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Act and Rule 158.

(e)                                  The Company will furnish to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, signed copies of the Registration Statement (including exhibits thereto) and to each other Underwriter a copy of the Registration Statement (without exhibits thereto) and, so long as delivery of a prospectus by an Underwriter or dealer may be required by the Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172), as many copies of each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any supplement thereto as the Representative may reasonably request. The Company will pay the expenses of printing or other production of all documents relating to the offering.

(f)                                   The Company will arrange, if necessary, for the qualification of the Securities for sale under the laws of such jurisdictions as the Representative may designate and will maintain such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Securities; provided that in no event shall the Company be obligated to qualify to do business in any jurisdiction where it is not now so qualified or to take any action that would subject it to service of process in suits, other than those arising out of the offering or sale of the Securities, in any jurisdiction where it is not now so subject.

(g)                                  The Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Representative, offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge, or otherwise dispose of, (or enter into any transaction which is designed to result in the disposition (whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to cash settlement or otherwise) by the Company or any controlled affiliate of the Company) directly or

indirectly (collectively, “dispose of”), any other shares of Common Stock or any securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, shares of Common Stock; or publicly announce an intention to effect any such transaction, for a period of 45 days after the date of the Underwriting Agreement, provided, however, that the foregoing restriction shall not apply to any disposal (or public announcement of disposal) of, Common Stock or any securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, Common Stock by the Company (i) in connection with acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic partnerships or collaboration arrangements, provided that (x) each recipient that receives any such shares of Common Stock or other securities prior to the end of the 45 day period execute and deliver to the Representative a lock-up letter in the form of Exhibit A hereto and (y) the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock issued (together with any other shares of Common Stock issuable in respect of such other securities) does not exceed 10% of the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding at the Execution Time), (ii) pursuant to any equity compensation or incentive plans, (iii) pursuant to the exercise of options, stock appreciation rights or warrants to purchase shares of Common Stock or vesting of restricted stock or restricted stock units, (iv) upon conversion of the Company’s 3.00% Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, (v) the filing of one or more registration statements on Form S-8 with the Commission with respect to shares of Common Stock issued or issuable under any equity compensation or incentive plans, (vi) the filing of one or more registration statements on Form S-4 with the Commission with respect to shares of Common Stock issued or issuable pursuant to clause (i) above, (vii) this offering, or (viii) in connection with any offering, sale, transaction, filing or announcement in relation to the disposition by Windstream Services, LLC or Windstream Holdings, Inc. (collectively, “Windstream”) of any shares of Common Stock held by Windstream immediately following the Closing Date, or as otherwise required by the terms of any agreement (which shall include, for the avoidance of doubt, the Stockholder’s and Registration Rights Agreement by and between the Company and Windstream Services, LLC, dated as of April 24, 2015) and in effect at the Execution Time.

(h)                                 The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that would constitute or that might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act or otherwise, stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Securities.

(i)                                     The Company agrees to pay the costs and expenses relating to the following matters:  (i) the preparation, printing or reproduction and filing with the Commission of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits thereto), each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and each amendment or supplement to any of them; (ii) the printing (or reproduction) and delivery (including postage, air freight charges and charges for counting and packaging) of such copies of the Registration Statement, each Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus and each

Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and all amendments or supplements to any of them, as may, in each case, be reasonably requested for use in connection with the offering and sale of the Securities; (iii) the preparation, printing, authentication, issuance and delivery of certificates for the Securities, including any stamp or transfer taxes in connection with the original issuance and sale of the Securities; (iv) the listing of the Securities under the Exchange Act and the listing of the Securities on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”); (v) any registration or qualification of the Securities for offer and sale under the securities or blue sky laws of the several states (including filing fees and the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the Underwriters relating to such registration and qualification); (vi) any filings required to be made with FINRA (including filing fees and the reasonable fees and expenses of counsel for the Underwriters relating to such filings in an amount not to exceed $15,000); (vii) the transportation and other expenses incurred by or on behalf of Company representatives in connection with presentations to prospective purchasers of the Securities; (viii) the fees and expenses of the Company’s accountants and the fees and expenses of counsel (including local and special counsel) for the Company; and (ix) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder. Except as set forth in Section 7 and 8, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters shall otherwise pay their own fees and expenses. It is agreed that this paragraph (i) relating to costs and expenses shall not modify the Stockholder’s and Registration Rights Agreement by and between Windstream Services, LLC and the Company, dated as of April 24, 2015.

(j)                                    The Company agrees that, unless it has or shall have obtained the prior written consent of the Representative, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees with the Company that, unless it has or shall have obtained, as the case may be, the prior written consent of the Company, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or that would otherwise constitute a “free writing prospectus” (as defined in Rule 405) required to be filed by the Company with the Commission or retained by the Company under Rule 433; provided that the prior written consent of the parties hereto shall be deemed to have been given in respect of the Free Writing Prospectuses included in Schedule III hereto and any electronic road show.  Any such free writing prospectus consented to by the Representative or the Company is hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus.”  The Company agrees that (x) it has treated and will treat, as the case may be, each Permitted Free Writing Prospectus as an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and (y) it has complied and will comply, as the case may be, with the requirements of Rules 164 and 433 applicable to any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, including in respect of timely filing with the Commission, legending and record keeping.

6.                                      Conditions to the Obligations of the Underwriters.  The obligations of the Underwriters to purchase the Underwritten Securities and the Option Securities, as the case may be, shall be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on

the part of the Company and the Selling Stockholder contained herein as of the Execution Time, the Closing Date and any settlement date pursuant to Section 3 hereof, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company and the Selling Stockholder made in any certificates pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company and the Selling Stockholders of their respective obligations hereunder and to the following additional conditions:

(a)                                 The Prospectus, and any supplement thereto, have been filed in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b); any material required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Act shall have been filed with the Commission within the applicable time periods prescribed for such filings by Rule 433; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any notice objecting to its use shall have been issued and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been instituted or threatened.

(b)                                 The Company shall have requested and caused Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP, counsel for the Company, to have furnished to the Representative their opinion, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Representative, in such form as is reasonably satisfactory to the Representative.

In rendering such opinion, such counsel may rely (A) as to matters involving the application of laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York, the State of Delaware or the Federal laws of the United States, to the extent they deem proper and specified in such opinion, upon the opinion of other counsel of good standing whom they believe to be reliable and who are satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters and (B) as to matters of fact, to the extent they deem proper, on certificates of responsible officers of the Company and public officials.  References to the Prospectus in this paragraph (b) shall also include any supplements thereto at the Closing Date.

(c)                                  The Company shall have requested and caused Kutak Rock LLP, Maryland counsel for the Company, to have furnished to the Representative their opinion, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Representative, in such form as is reasonably satisfactory to the Representative.

In rendering such opinion, such counsel may rely (A) as to matters involving the application of laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Maryland or the Federal laws of the United States, to the extent they deem proper and specified in such opinion, upon the opinion of other counsel of good standing whom they believe to be reliable and who are satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters and (B) as to matters of fact, to the extent they deem proper, on certificates of responsible officers of the Company and public officials.  References to the Prospectus in this paragraph (b) shall also include any supplements thereto at the Closing Date.

(d)                                 The Company shall have caused Daniel L. Heard, Senior Vice President—General Counsel and Secretary of the Company, to have furnished to

the Representative his opinion, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Representative, in such form as is reasonably satisfactory to the Representative.

(e)                                  The Selling Stockholder shall have requested and caused Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP, counsel for the Selling Stockholder, to have furnished to the Representative their opinion dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Representative, to the effect that:

(i)                                     this Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Selling Stockholder and

(ii)                                  assuming that each Underwriter acquires its interest in the Securities it has purchased from the Selling Stockholder without notice of any adverse claim (within the meaning of Section 8-105 of the UCC), each Underwriter that has purchased such Securities delivered on the Closing Date to The Depository Trust Company or other securities intermediary by making payment therefor as provided herein, and that has had such Securities credited to the securities account or accounts of such Underwriters maintained with The Depository Trust Company or such other securities intermediary will have acquired a security entitlement (within the meaning of Section 8-102(a)(17) of the UCC) to such Securities purchased by such Underwriter, and no action based on an adverse claim (within the meaning of Section 8-105 of the UCC) may be asserted against such Underwriter with respect to such Securities.

(iii)                               No consent, approval, authorization or order of any court or governmental agency or body is required for the consummation by the Selling Stockholder of the transactions contemplated herein, except (i) such as may have been obtained under the Act (ii) such as may be required under the blue sky laws of any jurisdiction in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Securities by the Underwriters (iii) such other approvals as have been obtained; and (iv) such consents, approvals, and authorizations the absence of which would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to prohibit or prevent consummation of the transactions contemplated herein.

(iv)                              Neither the sale of the Securities being sold by the Selling Stockholder nor the consummation of any other of the transactions herein contemplated by the Selling Stockholder nor the fulfillment of the terms hereof by such Selling Stockholder will conflict with, result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under any law or the charter or by-laws of the Selling Stockholder or the terms of any indenture or other agreement or instrument to which the Selling Stockholder is a party or bound, or any judgment, order or decree applicable to the Selling Stockholder of any court, regulatory body, administrative agency, governmental body or arbitrator having jurisdiction over such Selling Stockholder; except (other than with regard to the charter or by-laws of the

Selling Stockholder) for such conflicts, breaches, or defaults that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to prohibit or prevent consummation of the transactions contemplated herein.

In rendering such opinion, such counsel may rely (A) as to matters involving the application of laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of New York, the State of Delaware or the Federal laws of the United States, to the extent they deem proper and specified in such opinion, upon the opinion of other counsel of good standing whom they believe to be reliable and who are satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, and (B) as to matters of fact, to the extent they deem proper, on certificates of responsible officers of the Selling Stockholder and public officials.

(f)                                   The Representative shall have received from Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, such opinion or opinions, dated the Closing Date and addressed to the Representative, with respect to the issuance and sale of the Securities, the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package, the Prospectus (together with any supplement thereto) and other related matters as the Representative may reasonably require, and the Company and the Selling Stockholder shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.

(g)                                  The Company shall have furnished to the Representative a certificate of the Company, signed by the Chairman of the Board or the President and the principal financial or accounting officer of the Company, dated the Closing Date, to the effect that the signers of such certificate have carefully examined the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package, the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, and that:

(i)                                     the representations and warranties of the Company in this Agreement are true and correct on and as of the Closing Date with the same effect as if made on the Closing Date and the Company has complied with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Date; and

(ii)                                  since the date of the most recent financial statements included in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto), there has been no material adverse effect on the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, business or properties of the Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto).

(h)                                 The Company shall have furnished to Windstream a certificate of the Company, signed by the Chairman of the Board or the President and the principal financial or accounting officer of the Company on behalf of the

Company, dated the Closing Date, to the effect that the signers of such certificate have carefully examined the Registration Statement, the Disclosure Package, the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, and that the representations and warranties of the Company in Sections 1(i)(b) and 1(i)(c) of this Agreement are true and correct as of the Execution Time and the Closing Date.

(i)                                     The Company shall have requested and caused Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP to have furnished to the Representative and Windstream at the Execution Time and at the Closing Date, letters with respect to financial information of the Company, dated respectively as of the Execution Time and as of the Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative.

(j)                                    The Company shall have requested and caused KPMG LLP to have furnished to the Representative and Windstream at the Execution Time and at the Closing Date, letters with respect to financial information of PEG, dated respectively as of the Execution Time and as of the Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative.

(k)                                 Subsequent to the Execution Time or, if earlier, the dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement (exclusive of any amendment thereof) and the Prospectus (exclusive of any supplement thereto), there shall not have been any change, or any development involving a prospective change, in or affecting the condition (financial or otherwise), earnings, business or properties of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business, except as set forth in or contemplated in the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any amendment or supplement thereto) the effect of which is, in the sole judgment of the Representative, so material and adverse as to make it impractical or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or delivery of the Securities as contemplated by the Registration Statement (exclusive of any amendment thereof), the Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (exclusive of any amendment or supplement thereto).

(l)                                     Subsequent to the Execution Time, there shall not have been any decrease in the rating of any of the Company’s debt securities by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined for purposes of Rule 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act) or any notice given of any intended or potential decrease in any such rating or of a possible change in any such rating that does not indicate the direction of the possible change.

(m)                             The “lock-up” agreements, each substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto, between the Representative of the Company and the officers and directors of the Company named on Schedule IV relating to sales and certain other dispositions of shares of Common Stock or certain other securities, delivered to the Representative on or before the date hereof, shall be in full force

and effect on the Closing Date and any Additional Closing Date, as the case may be.

(n)                                 The purchase agreements signed by each Selling Stockholder with certain financial institutions (each a “Former Stockholder”) for the purchase and sale of an aggregate of 14,681,071 shares of Common Stock shall remain in full force and effect, and all conditions to the obligations of each Selling Stockholder and each Former Stockholder shall have been satisfied or waived (to the extent that such conditions may be satisfied or waived as of such time) prior to the Closing Date.

(o)                                 Prior to the Closing Date and any Additional Closing Date, the Company and the Selling Stockholder shall have furnished to the Representative such further information, certificates and documents as the Representative may reasonably request.

If any of the conditions specified in this Section 6 shall not have been fulfilled when and as provided in this Agreement, or if any of the opinions and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall not be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters, this Agreement and all obligations of the Underwriters hereunder may be canceled at, or at any time prior to, the Closing Date or the Additional Closing Date, as the case may be, by the Representative.  Notice of such cancellation shall be given to the Company and the Selling Stockholder in writing or by telephone or facsimile confirmed in writing.

The documents required to be delivered by this Section 6 shall be delivered at the office of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, at 825 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10019, on the Closing Date.

7.                                      Reimbursement of Underwriters’ Expenses.  If the sale of the Securities provided for herein is not consummated because any condition to the obligations of the Underwriters set forth in Section 6 hereof (other than those related to the Selling Stockholder) is not satisfied, because of any termination pursuant to Section 10(i) (with respect to Company securities only) hereof or because of any refusal, inability or failure on the part of the Company to perform any agreement herein or comply with any provision hereof other than by reason of a default by any of the Underwriters, the Company will reimburse the Underwriters severally through Citigroup Global Markets Inc. on demand for all expenses (including reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel) that shall have been incurred by them in connection with the proposed purchase and sale of the Securities.

8.              Indemnification and Contribution.   (a) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, the directors, officers, employees, affiliates, including their commercial banking affiliates, and agents of each Underwriter and each person who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of

either the Act or the Exchange Act and the Selling Stockholder against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which they or any of them may become subject under the Act, the Exchange Act or other Federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the registration statement for the registration of the Securities as originally filed or in any amendment thereof, or in any Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or in any amendment thereof or supplement thereto or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, and agrees to reimburse each such indemnified party, as incurred, for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by them in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action; provided, however, that the Company will not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage or liability arises out of or is based upon any such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made therein in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of any Underwriter through the Representative specifically for inclusion therein or the Selling Stockholder Information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholder specifically for inclusion therein.  This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability which the Company may otherwise have.

(b)                                 Each Underwriter severally and not jointly agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Selling Stockholder and the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who signs the Registration Statement, and each person who controls the Company within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act, to the same extent as set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with reference to written information relating to such Underwriter furnished to the Company by or on behalf of such Underwriter through the Representative specifically for inclusion in the documents referred to in the foregoing indemnity.  This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability which any Underwriter may otherwise have.  The Company and the Selling Stockholder acknowledge that the statements set forth (i) in the last paragraph of the cover page regarding delivery of the Securities, (ii) the sentences related to concessions and reallowances and (iii) the paragraph related to stabilization, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids in the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus under the heading “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)” constitute the only information furnished in writing by or on behalf of the several Underwriters for inclusion in the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.

(c)                                  The Selling Stockholder agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, the directors, officers, employees, affiliates and agents of each Underwriter and each person who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of

either the Act or the Exchange Act and the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who signs the Registration Statement, and each person who controls the Company within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act, to the same extent as set forth in paragraph (a) above, but only with reference to the Selling Stockholder Information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of the Selling Stockholder specifically for inclusion in the documents referred to in the foregoing indemnity. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability which the Selling Stockholder may otherwise have.

(d)                                 Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 8 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under this Section 8, notify each indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof; but the failure to so notify a indemnifying party (i) will not relieve it from liability under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) above unless and to the extent it did not otherwise learn of such action and such failure results in the forfeiture by such indemnifying party of substantial rights and defenses and (ii) will not, in any event, relieve the indemnifying party from any obligations to any indemnified party other than the indemnification obligation provided in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) above.  The indemnifying party shall be entitled to appoint counsel of the indemnifying party’s choice at the indemnifying party’s expense to represent the indemnified party in any action for which indemnification is sought (in which case the indemnifying party shall not thereafter be responsible for the fees and expenses of any separate counsel retained by the indemnified party or parties except as set forth below); provided, however, that such counsel shall be satisfactory to the indemnified party.  Notwithstanding the indemnifying party’s election to appoint counsel to represent the indemnified party in an action, the indemnified party shall have the right to employ separate counsel (including local counsel), and the indemnifying party shall bear the reasonable fees, costs and expenses of such separate counsel if (i) the use of counsel chosen by the indemnifying party to represent the indemnified party would present such counsel with a conflict of interest, (ii) the actual or potential defendants in, or targets of, any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, (iii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of the institution of such action or (iv) the indemnifying party shall authorize the indemnified party to employ separate counsel at the expense of the indemnifying party. In no event shall the indemnifying parties be liable for fees (1) fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for all Underwriters and each person who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act, (2) fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for the Selling Stockholder or (3) fees and expenses of

more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for, collectively, the Company and each of its directors, each of its officers who signs the Registration Statement, and each person who controls the Company within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act. An indemnifying party will not, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any pending or threatened claim, action, suit or proceeding in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties to such claim or action) unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes: (i) an unconditional release of each indemnified party, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party, from all liability arising out of such claim, action, suit or proceeding and (ii) does not include any statement as to or any admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party. An indemnified party will not, without the prior written consent of the indemnifying parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any pending or threatened claim, action, suit or proceeding in respect of which indemnification or contribution may be sought hereunder (whether or not the indemnifying parties are actual or potential parties to such claim or action).

(e)                                  In the event that the indemnity provided in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this Section 8 is unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party for any reason, the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters severally agree to contribute to the aggregate losses, claims, damages and liabilities (including legal or other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with investigating or defending same) (collectively “Losses”) to which the Company, the Selling Stockholder and one or more of the Underwriters may be subject in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters from the offering of the Securities. If the allocation provided by the immediately preceding sentence is unavailable for any reason, the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters severally shall contribute in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only such relative benefits but also the relative fault of the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters, in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such Losses as well as any other relevant equitable considerations.  Benefits received by the Company and the Selling Stockholder shall be deemed to be equal to the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company and the Selling Stockholder, and benefits received by the Underwriters shall be deemed to be equal to the total underwriting discounts and commissions, in each case as set forth on the cover page of the Prospectus. Relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any untrue or any alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information provided by the Company, the Selling Stockholder or the Underwriters, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission. The Company, the

Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution were determined by pro rata allocation or any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above. Notwithstanding the provisions of this paragraph (e), in no event shall (i) any Underwriter be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by such Underwriter with respect to the offering of the Securities exceeds the amount of any damages that such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission and (ii) the Selling Stockholder be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the net profit received by such Selling Stockholder exceeds the amount of any damages which such Selling Stockholder has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.  For purposes of this Section 8, each person who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act and each director, officer, employee, affiliate and agent of an Underwriter shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each person who controls the Company within the meaning of either the Act or the Exchange Act, each officer of the Company who shall have signed the Registration Statement and each director of the Company shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the applicable terms and conditions of this paragraph (e).

9.                                      Default by an Underwriter.  If any one or more Underwriters shall fail to purchase and pay for any of the Securities agreed to be purchased by such Underwriter or Underwriters hereunder and such failure to purchase shall constitute a default in the performance of its or their obligations under this Agreement, the remaining Underwriters shall be obligated severally to take up and pay for (in the respective proportions which the amount of Securities set forth opposite their names in Schedule I hereto bears to the aggregate amount of Securities set forth opposite the names of all the remaining Underwriters) the Securities which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase; provided, however, that in the event that the aggregate amount of Securities which the defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase shall exceed 10% of the aggregate amount of Securities set forth in Schedule I hereto, the remaining Underwriters shall have the right to purchase all, but shall not be under any obligation to purchase any, of the Securities, and if such nondefaulting Underwriters do not purchase all the Securities, this Agreement will terminate without liability to any nondefaulting Underwriter, the Selling Stockholder or the Company.  In the event of a default by any Underwriter as set forth in this Section 9, the Closing Date shall be postponed for such period, not exceeding five Business Days, as the Representative shall determine in order that the required changes in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements may be effected.  Nothing contained in this Agreement shall relieve any defaulting

Underwriter of its liability, if any, to the Company, the Selling Stockholder and any nondefaulting Underwriter for damages occasioned by its default hereunder.

10.                               Termination.  This Agreement shall be subject to termination in the absolute discretion of the Representative, by notice given to the Company and the Selling Stockholder prior to delivery of and payment for the Securities, if at any time prior to such delivery and payment (i) trading in the Company’s Common Stock shall have been suspended by the Commission or NASDAQ or trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange shall have been suspended or limited or minimum prices shall have been established on such exchange, (ii) the Selling Stockholder fails to tender the shares of Common Stock for delivery, free and clear of all liens, to the Underwriters, (iii) a banking moratorium shall have been declared either by Federal or New York State authorities, (iv) there shall have occurred a material disruption in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services or (v) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of hostilities, declaration by the United States of a national emergency or war, or other calamity or crisis the effect of which on financial markets is such as to make it, in the sole judgment of the Representative, impractical or inadvisable to proceed with the offering or delivery of the Securities as contemplated by the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus (exclusive of any amendment or supplement thereto).

11.                               Representations and Indemnities to Survive. The respective agreements, representations, warranties, indemnities, rights of contribution and other statements of the Company or its officers, of the Selling Stockholder and of the Underwriters set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter, the Selling Stockholder or the Company or any of the officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates or controlling persons referred to in Section 8 hereof, and will survive delivery of and payment for the Securities.  The provisions of Sections 7 and 8 hereof shall survive the termination or cancellation of this Agreement.

12.                               Notices.  All communications hereunder will be in writing and effective only on receipt, and, if sent to the Representative or the Selling Stockholder, will be mailed, delivered or telefaxed to the Citigroup Global Markets Inc. General Counsel (fax no.: (212) 816-7912) and confirmed to the General Counsel, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York, 10013, Attention: General Counsel; or, if sent to the Company, will be mailed, delivered or telefaxed to +1 (646) 291-1469 and confirmed to it at 10802 Executive Center Drive, Benton Building, Suite 300, Little Rock, Arkansas 72211, attention of the Legal Department.

13.                               Successors.  This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and the officers, directors, employees, agents and controlling persons referred to in Section 8 hereof, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder.

14.                               No fiduciary duty. Each of the Company and the Selling Stockholder hereby acknowledges that (a) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the

Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters and any affiliate through which it may be acting, (b) the Underwriters are acting as principal and not as an agent or fiduciary of the Company or the Selling Stockholder and (c) the Company’s engagement of the Underwriters in connection with the offering and the process leading up to the offering is as independent contractors and not in any other capacity. Furthermore, each of the Company and the Selling Stockholder agree that they are solely responsible for making their own judgments in connection with the offering (irrespective of whether any of the Underwriters has advised or is currently advising the Company or the Selling Stockholder on related or other matters).  Each of the Company and the Selling Stockholders agrees that it will not claim that the Underwriters have rendered advisory services of any nature or respect, or owe an agency, fiduciary or similar duty to the Company or the Selling Stockholder, in connection with such transaction or the process leading thereto.

15.                               Integration. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements and understandings (whether written or oral) between the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Underwriters, or any of them, with respect to the subject matter hereof.

16.                               Applicable Law and Submission to Jurisdiction.  This Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to contracts made and to be performed within the State of New York. Each of the Company and the Selling Stockholder hereby submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. federal and New York state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York in any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. Each of the Company and the Selling Stockholders waive any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such suit or proceeding in such courts. Each of the Company and the Selling Stockholders agree that final judgment in any such suit, action or proceeding brought in such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the Company and each Selling Stockholder, as applicable, and may be enforced in any court to the jurisdiction of which Company and each Selling Stockholder, as applicable, is subject by a suit upon such judgment.

17.                               Waiver of Jury Trial. The Company and the Selling Stockholder hereby irrevocably waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.

18.                               Counterparts.  This Agreement may be signed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement.

19.                               Headings.  The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.

20.                               Definitions.  The terms that follow, when used in this Agreement, shall have the meanings indicated.

“Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

“Base Prospectus” shall mean the base prospectus referred to in paragraph 1(a) above contained in the Registration Statement at the Execution Time.

“Business Day” shall mean any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a legal holiday or a day on which banking institutions or trust companies are authorized or obligated by law to close in New York City.

“Commission” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Disclosure Package” shall mean (i) the Preliminary Prospectus that is generally distributed to investors and used to offer the Securities, (ii) the Issuer Free Writing Prospectuses, if any, identified in Schedule III hereto, and (iii) any other Free Writing Prospectus that the parties hereto shall hereafter expressly agree in writing to treat as part of the Disclosure Package, together with the price to the public, the number of Underwritten Securities and the number of Option Securities to be included on the cover page of the Prospectus.

“Effective Date” shall mean each date and time that the Registration Statement, any post-effective amendment or amendments thereto and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement became or becomes effective.

“Exchange Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission promulgated thereunder.

“Execution Time” shall mean the date and time that this Agreement is executed and delivered by the parties hereto.

“Free Writing Prospectus” shall mean a free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 405.

“Issuer Free Writing Prospectus” shall mean an issuer free writing prospectus, as defined in Rule 433.

“Preliminary Prospectus” shall mean any preliminary prospectus supplement to the Base Prospectus referred to in paragraph 1(a) above which is used prior to the filing of the Prospectus, together with the Base Prospectus.

“Prospectus” shall mean the prospectus supplement relating to the Securities that was first filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) after the Execution Time, together with the Base Prospectus.

“Registration Statement” shall mean the registration statement referred to in paragraph 1(a) above, including exhibits and financial statements and any prospectus supplement relating to the Securities that is filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) and deemed part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430A, 430B or 430C, as amended at the Execution Time and, in the event any post-effective amendment thereto.

“Rule 158”, “Rule 163”, “Rule 164”, “Rule 172”, “Rule 405”, “Rule 415”, “Rule 424”, “Rule 430B” and “Rule 433” refer to such rules under the Act.

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to us the enclosed duplicate hereof, whereupon this letter and your acceptance shall represent a binding agreement among the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the several Underwriters.

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]

[Signature Page to Underwriting Agreement]

SCHEDULE I

SCHEDULE II

SCHEDULE III

Schedule of Free Writing Prospectuses included in the Disclosure Package

None

SCHEDULE IV

Lock-Up Signatories

Jennifer S. Banner

Francis X. “Skip” Frantz

Kenneth A. Gunderman

Daniel L. Heard

J. Blake Schuhmacher

David L. Solomon

Mark A. Wallace

EXHIBIT A

Form of Lock-Up Agreement

[CS&L Letterhead]

Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc.
Public Offering of Common Stock

[·], 2016

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

As Representative of the several Underwriters,
c/o Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
388 Greenwich Street
New York, New York 10013

Ladies and Gentlemen:

This letter is being delivered to you in connection with the proposed Underwriting Agreement (the “Underwriting Agreement”), among Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc. a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. as the selling stockholder and each of you as representatives of a group of Underwriters named therein (the “Representative”), relating to an underwritten public offering of Common Stock, $0.0001 par value (the “Common Stock”), of the Company (the “Offering”).

In order to induce you and the other Underwriters to enter into the Underwriting Agreement, the undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of Citigroup Global Markets, offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, (or enter into any transaction which is designed to, or might reasonably be expected to, result in the disposition (whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to cash settlement or otherwise) by the undersigned), directly or indirectly, including the filing (or participation in the filing) of a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in respect of, or establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”) with respect to, any shares of capital stock of the Company or any securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for such capital stock, or publicly announce an intention to effect any such transaction, for a period from the date hereof until 45 days after the date of the Underwriting Agreement (the “Lock-Up Period”).

The foregoing restriction shall not apply to:

(A) (i) transfers of shares of Common Stock as a bona fide gift or gifts, (ii) transfers of shares of Common Stock or such other securities as a result of the operation of law through estate, other testamentary document or intestate succession or (iii) transfers of shares of Common Stock or such other securities to any immediate family member of the undersigned or any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned or any immediate family member

of the undersigned (for purposes of this Letter Agreement, “immediate family” shall mean any relationship by blood, marriage or adoption, not more remote than first cousin);

(B) transfers of shares of Common Stock or other securities acquired in open market transactions after the completion of the Offering;

(C) the exercise of stock options to purchase shares of Common Stock and any related transfer to the Company of shares of Common Stock (i) deemed to occur upon the cashless exercise of such stock options or (ii) for the purpose of paying the exercise price of such stock options or for paying taxes (including estimated taxes) due as a result of the exercise of such stock options; provided that any such purchased shares will be subject to the restrictions described in this letter agreement;

(D) sales of shares of Common Stock pursuant to a trading plan established pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act in existence on the date hereof;

(E) the establishment or amendment of a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act; provided that no sales or other transfers occur under such plan;

provided that in the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clause (A), each donee or distributee shall execute and deliver to the Representative a lock-up letter in the form of this paragraph; and provided, further, that in the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clause (A) and (E), no filing by any party (donor, donee, transferor or transferee) under the Exchange Act, or other public announcement shall be required or shall be made voluntarily in connection with such transfer or distribution (other than a filing on a Form 5 made after the expiration of the 45-day period referred to above).

The restrictions contained herein shall not apply to any transfers, sales, tenders or other dispositions of Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, amalgamation, consolidation or other similar transaction made to or involving all holders of the Common Stock or such other securities pursuant to a change of control of the ownership of the Company (including, without limitation, the entry into any lock-up, voting or similar agreement pursuant to which the undersigned may agree to transfer, sell, tender or otherwise dispose of Common Stock or other such securities in favor of any such transaction); provided that if such tender offer, merger, amalgamation, consolidation or other similar transaction is not completed, any Common Stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock subject to this Letter Agreement shall remain subject to the restrictions contained in this Letter Agreement. For purposes of this Letter Agreement, “change of control” shall mean the consummation of any bona fide third party tender offer, merger, amalgamation, consolidation or other similar transaction the result of which is that any “person” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), or group of persons, other than the Company, becomes the beneficial owner (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 of the Exchange Act) of 50% of total voting power of the voting stock of the Company.

If for any reason the Underwriting Agreement shall be terminated prior to the Closing Date (as defined in the Underwriting Agreement), the agreement set forth above shall likewise be terminated.  The agreement set forth above and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to it will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of

the State of New York applicable to contracts made and to be performed within the State of New York.

Exhibit 5.1

June 24, 2016

Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc.

10802 Executive Center Drive

Benton Building Suite 300

Little Rock, AR 72211

Re:                             Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-212046)

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have served as Maryland counsel to Communications Sales & Leasing, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), in connection with certain matters of Maryland law relating to the registration by the Company of up to 16,883,231 shares (the “Shares”) of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company, of which (a) 14,681,071 Shares (the “Selling Stockholder Shares”) are to be sold by Citigroup Global Markets Inc., a New York corporation (the “Selling Stockholder”) and (b) up to 2,202,160 Shares (the “Company Shares”) may be sold by the Company pursuant to the exercise of an over-allotment option granted to the underwriters, in an underwritten public offering covered by the above-referenced registration statement on Form S-3, and all amendments thereto (collectively, the “Registration Statement”), filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

In connection with our representation of the Company, and as a basis for the opinions hereinafter set forth, we have examined originals, or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the following documents (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Documents”):

1.                                      The Registration Statement and the base prospectus included therein in the form in which it was transmitted to the Commission under the Securities Act;

2.                                      The Prospectus Supplement, dated June 20, 2016, in the form in which it was transmitted to the Commission under the Securities Act;

3.                                      The Articles of Amendment and Restatement of the Company (the “Charter”), which were accepted by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland (the “SDAT”) as of April 10, 2015, and which have been certified by the SDAT;

4.                                      The Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Company, which were adopted by the board of directors of Company as of April 9, 2015 and certified as of the date hereof by an officer of the Company;

5.                                      A certificate of the SDAT as to the good standing of the Company, dated as of a recent date;

6.                                      the Underwriting Agreement dated June 21, 2016 (the “Underwriting Agreement”) among the Company, the Selling Stockholder and the Selling Stockholder, as representative of the several underwriters named in Schedule I thereto;

7.                                      A certified copy of certain resolutions of the board of directors of the Company relating to, among other matters, the registration, sale and issuance of the Shares and the establishment of a pricing committee (the “Pricing Committee”), certified as of the date hereof by an officer of the Company;

8.                                      A certificate executed by an officer of the Company, dated as of the date hereof; and

9.                                      Such other documents, statutes, ordinances, regulations, certificates and matters as we have deemed necessary or appropriate to express the opinion set forth below, subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications stated herein.

In expressing the opinion set forth below, we have assumed the following:

1.                                      Each individual executing any of the Documents, whether on behalf of such individual or another person, is legally competent to do so.

2.                                      Each individual executing any of the Documents on behalf of a party (other than the Company) is duly authorized to do so.

3.                                      Each of the parties (other than the Company) executing any of the Documents has duly and validly executed and delivered each of the Documents to which such party is a signatory, and such party’s obligations set forth therein are legal, valid and binding and are enforceable in accordance with all stated terms.

4.                                      All Documents submitted to us as originals are authentic.  All Documents submitted to us as certified, photostatic or other copies conform to the original documents.  All Documents upon which we have relied are accurate and complete.  All public records reviewed or relied upon by us or on our behalf are true and complete.  All representations, warranties, statements and information contained in the Documents are true and complete and remain so as of the date of this letter.

5.                                      There has been no oral or written modification of or amendment to any of the Documents, and there has been no waiver of any provision of any of the Documents, by action or omission of the parties or otherwise.

6.                                      The form and content of all Documents submitted to us as unexecuted drafts do not differ in any respect relevant to this opinion from the form and content of such Documents as executed and delivered.

7.                                      All signatures on the Documents submitted to us for examination are genuine.

8.                                      All representations, warranties, statements, and information contained in the Documents are accurate and correct.

9.                                      Each individual executing a certificate is authorized to do so and has knowledge about all matters stated therein.  The contents of each such certificate are accurate and complete and remain so as of the date of this letter.

10.                               None of the Selling Stockholders Shares have been, and none of the Shares will be, issued or transferred in violation of the restrictions on transfer and ownership contained in Article Seven of the Charter.

Based upon the foregoing, and subject to the assumptions, limitations and qualifications stated herein, it is our opinion that:

1.                                      The Company is a corporation, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Maryland.

2.                                      The issuance of the Company Shares has been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered by the Company in accordance with resolutions of the board of directors of the Company or the Pricing Committee, the Underwriting Agreement and the Registration Statement against payment of the consideration set forth therein, the Company Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

3.                                      The issuance of the Selling Stockholder Shares was duly authorized and the Selling Stockholder Shares are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.

The foregoing opinion is limited to the laws of the State of Maryland and we do not express any opinion herein concerning any other law.  We express no opinion as to compliance with any federal or state securities laws, including the securities laws of the State of Maryland, or as to federal or state laws regarding fraudulent transfers.  To the extent that any matter as to which our opinion is expressed herein would be governed by the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of Maryland, we do not express any opinion on such matter.  The opinion expressed herein is subject to the effect of any judicial decision which may permit the introduction of parol evidence to modify the terms or the interpretation of agreements.

The opinion expressed herein is limited to the matters specifically set forth herein and no other opinion shall be inferred beyond the matters expressly stated.  We assume no obligation to supplement this opinion if any applicable law changes after the date hereof or if we become aware of any fact that might change the opinion expressed herein after the date hereof.

This opinion is being furnished to you for submission to the Commission as an exhibit to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K relating to the Shares (the “Current Report”), which is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.  We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Current Report and the said incorporation by reference and to the use of the name of our firm therein.  In giving this consent, we do not admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required by Section 7 of the Securities Act.