Open Range Communications Requests Bankruptcy Move to Chapter 7

Source: Denver Business Journal

According to an article in the Denver Business Journal, Open Range Communications has asked a Delaware court to switch its Chapter 11 reorganization case to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, saying it has no realistic chance to rehabilitate the business.

The company’s filing to switch to Chapter 7 said that it’s unable to reach a settlement with either of its main funders — the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and JPMorgan offshoot One Equity Partners — and it won’t be able to pay Chapter 11 bankruptcy expenses after Feb. 24, the article said.

Open Range Communications Files for Chapter 11, Possible Asset Sale

Source: Reuters

According to an article on Reuters, privately held wireless broadband operator Open Range Communications filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. district court of Delaware and said it was looking to sell selected assets.

Open Range listed total assets of $114 million and total liabilities of $110 million as of Sept. 30, the company said in court papers, the article said.

Momentum Telecom Acquires CommPartners

Source: Momentum Press Release

Momentum Telecom has announced that it has acquired CommPartners – a VoIP services provider based in Las Vegas – through an asset liquidation process resulting from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Momentum was the highest bidder of several companies considering the acquisition of CommPartners’ assets.

CommPartners currently supports approximately 200 reseller customers and more than 27,000 hosted seats and SIP trunks. At its peak, the company reported annual revenues of $77 million. CommPartners has primarily serviced data VARs and other resellers that provide hosted IP telephony to small and medium-sized businesses, closely mirroring Momentum’s focus on providing hosted solutions to cable company and municipality subscribers throughout the U.S.

CommPartners will be absorbed into Momentum and be rebranded as details of the ownership change are worked out. The Las Vegas office will remain open and Momentum will maintain CommPartners’ core IP infrastructure and later integrate CommPartners’ platform with Momentum’s platform which is currently hosted in Atlanta, GA. Sales support, account management, Tier 2 and Tier 3 technical support will be maintained in Las Vegas to create a strong regional presence. Momentum has been delivering hosted IP telephony service since 2005 and is CLEC certified in 45 states, and with the acquisition now exceeds 100,000 lines – making it one of the largest wholesale providers of digital IP telephony services.

For Momentum’s existing customers, with the current Atlanta-based colocation providing multiple layers of redundancy – and operating at the highest levels of availability – adding additional measures of backup in the western half of the U.S. is advantageous. The addition of CommPartners’ Broadsoft platform in Las Vegas enables Momentum to deliver a carrier class level of geo-redundancy.

Hawaiian Telcom Reports 4Q and 2010 Results

Source: Hawaiian Telcom Press Release

Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc. (OTC: HWLT.PK) reported combined financial results for full year 2010 and its fourth quarter. The company reported revenue for 2010 of $401.4 million, resulting in adjusted EBITDA of $114.4 million. Revenue totaled $100.1 million in the fourth quarter, resulting in adjusted EBITDA of $27.1 million, up 6 percent year-over-year. Generated net income of $3.1 million in the first two months after emergence from chapter 11 on October 28, 2010. Hawaiian Telcom said access line loss was approximately 6 percent in 2010, which compares favorably to an 8 percent loss in 2009.

As previously reported, Hawaiian Telcom's Plan of Reorganization became effective and the company emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on October 28, 2010. As a result of its emergence from chapter 11, Hawaiian Telcom adopted fresh-start reporting as of October 31, 2010. As required by fresh-start reporting, its assets and liabilities have been adjusted to fair value, as determined by the Plan of Reorganization. Accordingly, its financial condition and results of operations after October 31, 2010 are not comparable to the financial condition and results of operations for periods to and on October 31, 2010.

FairPoint Rejoins Nasdaq, Begins Trading Under 'FRP'

Source: FairPoint Press Release

FairPoint Communications (Nasdaq:FRP) announced that shares of its common stock have begun trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol FRP.

“Today’s Nasdaq listing marks the culmination of the recent financial restructuring process,” said Paul H. Sunu, CEO of FairPoint.

On January 24, 2011, FairPoint emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As of the emergence date, the company had approximately $1.0 billion of debt outstanding and approximately 26.3 million shares outstanding (including shares held in reserve for certain pre-petition claims).