Silver Lining?
Monday May 22, 7:58 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: MBN Communications, Inc.
Time Warner Telecom Faces Competitive Bid For Certain
GST Assets
Maui Company Vies for Hawaii Assets
HONOLULU, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hawaii assets of GST
Telecommunications, Inc. (Nasdaq: GSTX - news) could come
under local ownership and control if plans by a Maui company
come through. MBN Communications, Inc., based in Maui,
entered an agreement on April 27, 2000, with GST
Telecommunications, Inc. to acquire its Hawaii subsidiaries,
GST Telecom Hawaii, Inc. and GST Hawaii OnLine (HOL) for
$76 million in cash, a price equal to the book value of GST's
total Hawaii assets.
GST Telecommunications, which filed for protection under
Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on May 17, 2000, has
signed a letter of intent with Time Warner Telecom, Inc.
(Nasdaq: TWTC - news) for the sale of substantially all the
assets of GST for $450 million, or less than 50 percent of
GST's total asset value. GST owes its creditors approximately
$1.2 billion. A large percentage of the creditors are
represented by Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin. If the
creditors accept the Time Warner offer and ignore MBN's
offer, they would leave as much as $40 million on the table
for the Hawaii assets alone.
Time Warner Telecom intends to seek an expedited hearing from
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, with a final ruling on June 23,
2000. MBN is attempting to purchase the Hawaii subsidiaries,
which include GST Telecom Hawaii, a Competitive Local
Exchange Carrier (CLEC); GST Hawaii OnLine, the state's
largest Internet service provider; and an undersea fiber-
optic network that connects the six major Hawaiian Islands;
for fair value, and intends to present its plan directly to
GST's largest creditors.
MBN Communications Group is a privately held Hawaii
corporation with headquarters in Premier Place, located in
the Maui Research and Technology Park.
For more information, contact Tim Georges, MBN
Communications, Inc., at 808-270-3000, ext. 304.
SOURCE: MBN Communications, Inc. |
