CTR, J.P. Morgan Launch Global Project OXYGEN Network Financing Effort
Business/Technology Editors
WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 1998--Executives of CTR Group, Ltd. and its financial advisor, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., are advancing efforts to raise financing in world-wide markets for debt and private equity for the construction of Project OXYGEN(tm), the global undersea optical fiber cable network. The companies expect to raise equity and debt financing to begin the Project by the fourth quarter of this year. "We are excited to be working with CTR Group as it embarks on its strategy to link the world through its fiber-optic network," said Mark Wittleder, Vice President at J.P. Morgan. The first phase of Project OXYGEN will comprise approximately 158,000 kilometers of optical fiber cable, 101 landing points in 74 countries and locations, and a minimum capacity of 640 Gbit/s on every segment. Supply contracts for the undersea cable and related equipment are scheduled to be signed August 1, with cable installation beginning in 1999. Major trans-oceanic links of the OXYGEN Network will be in place in 2000, and the entire first phase will be complete in 2002. CTR selected J.P. Morgan, New York-based investment bank, as its financial advisor in part because of the size of the undertaking. "Since the financial requirements of Project OXYGEN are so huge, we wanted a financial advisor with the capabilities of J.P. Morgan, which has extensive experience in large infrastructure projects," said Neil Tagare, CTR's Chairman and CEO.
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CONTACT: Project OXYGEN Robert Poe, 201-505-9000 ext. 8160 fax: 201-505-9033 poe@oxygen.org oxygen.org
KEYWORD: NEW JERSEY INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMED COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS TELECOMMUNICATIONS |