Bob,here is article about Worldwide Fiber Inc.
This company has awarded NN last year contract for multiservices edge
ATM platfrom:
Message 12635310
Worldwide Fiber plans stock IPO
B.C. firm expects up to $1-billion
to expand fibre-optic network overseas
PETER KENNEDY
British Columbia Bureau
Thursday, January 27, 2000
Vancouver -- Cutting edge telecommunications firm Worldwide
Fiber Inc. said yesterday that it is planning an initial public offering
(IPO) of stock that is expected to raise up to $1-billion (U.S.) for
expansion of its fibre-optic networks into Europe.
The profitable Vancouver-based company's move to go public
comes after it lured one of software billionaire Bill Gates' top
lieutenants away from his former job as chief financial officer of
Microsoft Corp.
Greg Maffei was installed as chief executive officer of Worldwide
Fiber this week after the company agreed to provide him with a
$77.5-million loan, enabling him to buy up to an 8-per-cent stake in
the company.
Documents filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission in
Washington, D.C., show Mr. Maffei used the loan to buy 31 million
shares for $2.50 apiece.
It means that he, along with Dave and Cliff Lede, the two Alberta
brothers who hold a 55-per-cent stake in Worldwide's parent
company, Vancouver-based Ledcor Industries Ltd., stand to reap
millions if they sell their stock into the IPO.
So too do would U.S investment firms Donaldson Lufkin &
Jenrette and Goldman Sachs & Co., which recently helped
Worldwide raise $345-million in private placements.
Yesterday, Worldwide spokeswoman Michelle Gagné would not say
exactly when Worldwide Fiber plans to go public. However, she said
a preliminary prospectus will soon be filed with regulators in the
United States and Canada in connection with an IPO that is expected
to be completed within six months from now.
Ms. Gagné also declined to say how much the company wants to
raise. However, when Mr. Maffei was hired last month, industry
sources said the company would need up to $1-billion to fulfill its
obligations as it completes its North American lines and expands into
Europe.
The Ledcor subsidiary currently designs, builds and operates
high-speed fibre-optic networks for communications carriers,
Internet service providers and corporations with high-bandwidth
network needs.
These fibre-optic networks carry anything from phone calls to
Internet data via light moving through glass strands.
Worldwide is completing a 60,500-kilometre network in North
America and Europe, including a transatlantic network linking Halifax
and Boston with Liverpool and Dublin.
Earlier this week, the company said it had gained a substantial
foothold in Europe via a fibre swap with Swedish telecommunications
carrier Telia AB.
Under the agreement, Telia is providing Worldwide with eight strands
of fibre that will each run over 6,400 kilometres in Britain, Ireland,
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
It is currently seeking another fibre-swap deal that will give it an entry
into southern Europe.
Worldwide currently has about 420 staff and generates about
$400-million in annual revenue. The company said profit for the third
quarter ended Sept. 30 rose to $8.9-million from $6.2-million in the
same period a year earlier.
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