FairPoint (Other OTC: FRCMQ.PK) may finally be seeing light at the end of the tunnel of its long Chapter 11 journey as a hearing has been set on its debt restructuring for Jan. 13, reports the Charlotte Business Journal.
Under the terms of the new plan, FairPoint not only has lowered its revenue projections for the next three years, but lenders have made concessions that will make it easier to pay off its debts. In addition, regulators announced they will no longer require FairPoint to pay fines due to their struggles with integrating Verizon's former New England phone lines into its fold.
Vermont, one of the last holdouts to approve FairPoint's restructuring plan, agreed to forgo $12 million in fines, for example.
Similar to Hawaiian Telecom--another service provider that bought former Verizon assets and also recently emerged from bankruptcy protection--FairPoint struck a deal with its creditors to reduce its debt load. When its restructuring process is complete, FairPoint will have around $1.1 billion in debt.
The experience of FairPoint and Hawaiian Telecom will likely continue to serve as a sobering reminder of the challenges that telcos and competitive providers face when conducting large-scale acquisitions.
For more:
- Charlotte Business Journal has this article
Related articles:
FairPoint's Chapter 11 plan gets support from creditors, lenders
Judge approves FairPoint's reorganization plan
FairPoint wants extension for broadband expansion
FairPoint buys more time for reorganization
FairPoint will have to restate 2009 revenue
FairPoint files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection