Hawaiian Telcom has post-bankruptcy debt plan

Hawaiian Telcom, the local telco in Hawaii that filed for bankruptcy protection last December, now has a reorganization plan on file with its bankruptcy court that outlines how the company hopes to shed about $700 million of the more than $1 billion in debt it owes. The company also said it hopes to emerge from bankruptcy protection with a $30 million undrawn revolving credit facility and at least $45 million of cash on hand, according to a Pacific Business News story.

A steering committee representing some creditors reportedly supports the plan, which will be the subject of a court hearing planned for July 23. Hawaiian Telcom and its owner, private equity firm The Carlyle Group, were under fire for many months before the company filed for Chapter 11. Carlyle acquired Hawaiian Telcom in 2005 from Verizon Communications for $1.6 billion, among the first in a series of deals that witnessed Verizon unloading local access lines and businesses, the most recent move in that series being an agreement to spin-off and sell rural lines to Frontier Communications.

For more:
- Pacific Business News has this story [1]

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