FairPoint Communications (FRCMQ.PK) has made even more headway out of the Chapter 11 waters as Maine's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted 2-1 to approve its Chapter 11 reorganization plan.
The PUC also granted FairPoint's request to extend the deadline to expand broadband in the state and reduce the number of broadband capable lines from 90 percent to 87 percent after the five-year expansion project ends. Meeting these broadband expansion goals was one of the major provisions the service provider needed to gain the state's PUC approval of its $2.3 billion acquisition of Verizon's lines in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
While Maine's approval of its bankruptcy plan and extending the broadband timeline helps FairPoint clear some major hurdles in its recovery, it's still not entirely out of the woods yet as it still needs approvals from the New Hampshire and Vermont state PUCs.
For more:
- The Portland Herald via AP 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 files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection