From CSFB's Cynthia M. Motz, CFA
NXTL: Announces Plans to Pursue NextWave Spectrum
Details of the announcement
In a press release distributed on August 11, Nextel announced
that it has reached an agreement with both the Department of
Justice and the FCC to pursue the spectrum of NextWave
Personal Communications, which is currently involved in
voluntary bankruptcy proceedings. NextWave's spectrum assets
consist of C-block PCS licenses covering 63 Basic Trading
Areas (BTAs) and D,E, and F-block licenses covering 32 BTAs.
In total, the licenses, which have gone largely unused since
they originally awarded to NextWave in the PCS auction two
and a half years ago, cover 165 million POPs.
Nextel emphasized that its motivation in pursuing these
licenses is to pursue new strategic initiatives and deploy "
future generations" of wireless services.
Nextel believes it can facilitate a reorganization of the
NextWave debtors that will be in the best interest of the FCC
, NextWave's creditor constituencies and other stakeholders,
and the general public. Nextel intends to work with all
parties to produce a resolution to the bankruptcy proceedings
that would likely be much preferable to continuing to pursue
the matter through the bankruptcy and appellate courts.
Although Nextel has been in communication with the creditor
and equity groups of NextWave regarding its potential role as
sponsor of a reorganization, no agreements have been reached
at this time. Should an agreement be reached, it would be
subject to the normal bankruptcy court plan consideration and
confirmation process as well as regulatory approvals.
NextWave sought bankruptcy protection in June 1998, after
having failed to make required payments to the FCC for its
licenses. The proceedings are currently taking place in the
United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New
York. |
