Brightspeed Swaps CEOs as $11.6B Debt Pile Pushes It Toward Bankruptcy

Brightspeed ended the third quarter with $1.2 billion in cash against $11.6 billion in gross debt, and new CEO Shawn O'Donnell inherits a company that could file for bankruptcy as soon as December, according to reports.

The Apollo Global Management-backed broadband operator appointed O'Donnell as chief executive this week. He succeeds Michel Combes, who held the role on an acting basis and will remain chairman of the board. The Wall Street Journal reports the company is preparing a potential bankruptcy filing and is weighing securitization of assets to raise capital.

Why the change at the top?

The appointment signals the likely path ahead. O'Donnell most recently served as senior managing director at FTI Consulting, where he led the firm's Americas Telecom, Media and Technology practice. New Street Research analyst David Barden noted that restructuring is one of O'Donnell's specialties, pointing to his role in leading the sale of Caribbean Asset Holdings.

"With a clear need to raise debt, restructure, sell, or file for bankruptcy, it makes sense to bring in a CEO with turnaround/restructuring experience," Barden wrote in a research note.

O'Donnell's priorities at Brightspeed remain unclear. His track record suggests the company wants an operator who can manage a balance sheet as much as a network. For practitioners, the message is direct: the fiber build continues, but the capital structure comes first.

How big is the funding gap?

Barden estimates Brightspeed needs roughly $3 billion to fund itself through 2027. The company's $1.2 billion cash position covers only a fraction of that requirement. The reported December timeline for a bankruptcy filing is not a shock to Wall Street; analysts have tracked the funding gap for months.

According to the Journal, Brightspeed is seeking additional capital from existing lenders through an asset-backed financing facility secured by its new fiber network. Securitization has become a proven route for debt-laden US broadband operators, and Brightspeed has precedent to follow.

Two comparable deals illustrate the model:

• Optimum Communications, formerly Altice USA, secured a $1 billion loan last summer against hybrid fiber/coax assets in the Bronx and Brooklyn.
• Frontier Communications, now part of Verizon, securitized fiber assets in the Dallas area for $2.1 billion.

Brightspeed itself landed $575 million earlier to accelerate its fiber build. A successful securitization of its new fiber footprint would buy more runway for construction without an immediate court process.

Could a sale preempt bankruptcy?

Barden continues to argue Brightspeed could attract a strategic buyer. In July he identified Verizon as the most logical acquirer, given the operator's existing fiber ambitions.

"There are myriad reasons including taxes and mobile penetration considerations that could motivate a strategic transaction sooner vs. later," Barden wrote. "Time is ticking and a lengthy bankruptcy filing only damages value for everyone (except other, better-resourced, opportunistic fiber overbuilders)."

The warning matters for competitors. A prolonged bankruptcy would leave Brightspeed's markets exposed to rivals with stronger balance sheets. It would also compress the price any buyer might pay.

What did Combes deliver?

Combes, a former SoftBank, Sprint and Alcatel-Lucent executive, became Brightspeed chairman in August 2024 and acting CEO in June 2025. He also took the CEO post at AI cloud infrastructure company Lambda in May.

He joined as the company cut $1.1 billion of debt and secured $3.7 billion in new financing to support a fiber build targeting about 4 million locations. Under his leadership, Brightspeed says its fiber footprint grew past 3 million locations and churn improved, though the company did not quantify the churn gain. The operator also secured more than $500 million in local, state and federal funding during his tenure.

That leaves roughly 1 million locations between the current footprint and the stated build target, a gap the next funding round must finance.

What comes next?

Brightspeed operates across parts of 20 states in the Midwest and eastern US, built on assets Apollo acquired from Lumen Technologies in 2021, including landline and DSL infrastructure. The company has concentrated its strategy on fiber overbuilds in those footprint areas.

The immediate decisions are financial: strike an asset-backed deal with existing lenders, find a strategic buyer, or file. Barden's July framing of Verizon as the logical buyer, combined with the reported December filing window, suggests the next eight weeks will determine whether Brightspeed restructures in or out of court.