Troubled Telecom Firm Teligent Reduces Its Staff by 900 Workers
By CHRISTINE NUZUM
Dow Jones Newswires
NEW YORK -- Teligent Inc., a troubled telecommunications company, laid off 900 employees, or about 38% of its work force, according to a spokeswoman.
The spokeswoman declined to comment on a report Friday in the Washington Post that Teligent may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as early as Monday. After Friday's layoffs, the company's work force numbers 1,500, the spokeswoman said.
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At the end of April, Teligent extended credit arrangements to avoid violating debt covenants. Soon after, IDT Corp. bought distressed shares to boost its voting stake to 37%. Before Friday's opening bell, the Nasdaq National Market System halted trading of Teligent shares, requesting additional information. Teligent shares closed Thursday at 56 cents.
Teligent now has until May 15, two weeks later than the original deadline of April 30, to raise $250 million in vendor financing and $100 million in convertible notes, to comply with covenants with banks including Chase Manhattan Bank, Goldman Sachs and Toronto Dominion Bank.
Also, the extension restricts Teligent from spending more than $21 million during the first two weeks of May. People close to the company don't expect Teligent to exceed the spending cap.
On April 30, the day the credit extension was announced, Chairman and Chief Executive Alex Mandl, a former rising star at AT&T Corp., resigned and IDT executives took over his posts. |
