FairPoint Fiasco: Is Windstream a Potential Buyer?

Windstream Corp.'s (WIN) shares closed up and FairPoint Communications Inc.'s (FRP) closed way down on Monday after rumors hit that the Arkansas-based LEC may be ready to buy its nearly insolvent East Coast counterpart.

If Windstream proves the speculation right, it would become, in one move, one of the United States’ largest phone providers. Unlike its rural rivals, Windstream hasn’t made any big acquisitions – just a series of smaller ones.

Windstream reportedly is buying up its own debt. The New York Post and telecom observers think that’s probably because the LEC is preparing to purchase FairPoint.