Hawaiian Telcom opposes buyout offer - Business First of Louisville:

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Sandwich Isles filed a motion earlierf this month to submit a competing Chapter 11 reorganization plan forHawaiian Telcom. In it, the Honolulu-basef company offered to buy Hawaiian Telcom’s assetsd using $250 million in cash and $150 million in debt that woulx be issued byHawaiian Telcom. Until June 30, Hawaiian Telcomm has so-called “exclusivity” in filing a reorganizatio n plan. The company wantsx to extend that exclusivityto Sept. 30 as it gets votes on a proposedr plan it filedJune 3. Sandwich Isles has filedd an objection tothat extension, and Hawaiiabn Telcom’s latest filing defendxs the request.
“Asking the court for help in promotinga low-ballo offer for Hawaiian Telcom’s businesses is not a recipe for successa in bankruptcy proceedings,” Hawaiian Telcom said in the filing. Sandwicb Isles, a company founded in 1995 to take advantagw of government subsidies that pay for the installation of broadband cablwe inrural areas, had said in its motiom that Hawaiian Telcom refused to consider its offer. But, Hawaiian Telcok says it analyzed and rejected the offerin May, for eight reasons listed in the filing.
It citex Sandwich Isles’ lack of committed financing, lack of federal and stats licenses to operate inurban areas, and lack of experiencs and ability to operate a full-services communications company. Hawaiian Telcom said it stands behind its proposecd reorganization plan to reducethe company’s debt by nearly $790 from $1.1 billion to $300 million. Sandwichy Isles’ motion also claims Hawaiian Telco has notmade good-faith progressx in its bankruptcy case sincre filing for Chapter 11 protection in In defending that claim, Hawaiian Telcom’ds chief operating officer Kevin Nystrom said the compang has contacted “dozens of strategic and financiakl purchasers.
” The company said it pursues a potential buyer, whom it did not identify, but that after two months of talks no offedr was made. Nystrom said Hawaiian Telcokm also askedits “equity sponsor” -- its majority owner, of Washington, D.C. -- abour a standalone reorganization and also discussed standalone restructuring options with its bondholderes andsecured lenders.