Share-Based Compensation Plans: Share-Based Compensation Plans: (Notes)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Text Block]

Share-Based Compensation Plans:

All share-based compensation award information presented has been retrospectively adjusted to reflect the effects of the one-for-six reverse stock split which became effective on April 26, 2015 and for the spin-off of the REIT completed on April 24, 2015 (see Note 13).

Under the Amended and Restated 2006 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Incentive Plan”), we may issue a maximum of 35.0 million equity stock awards in the form of restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights or stock options. As of March 31, 2015, the Incentive Plan had remaining capacity of approximately 13.3 million awards. As of March 31, 2015, we had additional remaining capacity of approximately 1.5 million awards from a similar equity incentive plan acquired in the PAETEC acquisition.

Our Board of Directors approves grants of restricted stock and restricted stock units to officers, executives, non-employee directors and certain management employees. These grants include the standard annual grants to these employee and director groups as a key component of their annual incentive compensation plan and one-time grants may include time-based and performance-based awards. Time-based awards generally vest ratably over a service period of two or three years. Each recipient of the performance-based restricted stock units may vest in a number of shares from zero to 150.0 percent of their award based on attainment of certain operating targets, some of which are indexed to the performance of Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index, over a three-year period. The 2015 operating targets for these performance based restricted stock units were approved by the Board of Directors in February 2015. Due to the pending spin-off, there were no grants of restricted stock and restricted stock units in the three month period endedMarch 31, 2015. The standard annual grants to employees and directors will be made in the second quarter of 2015.

Restricted stock and restricted stock unit activity for the three month period endedMarch 31, 2015 was as follows:

	(Thousands) Underlying Number of Shares		Weighted Average Fair Value
Non-vested at December 31, 2014	978.0		$	8.95
Granted	—		$	—
Vested	(354.6	)	$	9.30
Forfeited	(98.1	)	$	8.38
Non-vested at March 31, 2015	525.3		$	8.81

At March 31, 2015, unrecognized compensation expense totaled $22.6 million and is expected to be recognized over the weighted average vesting period of 1.7 years. Unrecognized compensation expense is included in additional paid-in capital in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and statements of shareholders’ and member equity. Share-based compensation expense for restricted stock and restricted stock units was $5.0 million for the three month period endedMarch 31, 2015, as compared to $6.5 million for the same period in 2014.

8. Share-Based Compensation Plans, Continued:

In addition to including amounts related to restricted stock and restricted units, share-based compensation expense presented in the accompanying consolidated statements of cash flow also includes amounts related to certain executive and management incentive compensation plans and the matching contribution to the employee savings plan for which payments to eligible participants are expected to be made in Windstream stock. A summary of share-based compensation expense was as follows for the three month period endedMarch 31:

	Three Months Ended
(Millions)	2015		2014
Restricted stock and restricted units	$	5.0	$	6.5
Employee savings plan (See Note 7)	5.6		7.2
Executive and management incentive compensation plans	4.2		—
Share-based compensation expense	$	14.8	$	13.7