Thank you, Van, for also sharing your thoughts on the confererence call. I would not be surprised if the FCC doesn't issue its Report & Order on 2-way MMDS until next July. Historically, the Commission has made these kinds of releases in sync with the annual WCA convention. That would give the Commission about 5 months to evaluate all the comments and replies relating to the proceeding. Of course, it is possible that the R&O could be issued earlier, but I would certainly not bet on it anytime before Feb 28, 1998 (the BANX option exercise date).
I also picked out the following from the December 30, 1997 8-K:
<<CAI has approached various third parties, including the Investor, about the possibility of providing additional funds to the Company, either through the sale of equity or the issuance of debt, including the purchase by the Investor of additional Notes. None of these third parties have made a definitive offer to provide funds to the Company. The Company's ability to raise additional funds through secured loans and the issuance of certain equity is limited by the terms of the Indenture (the "Indenture") governing the Company's 12 1/4% Senior Notes due 2002, the terms of various outstanding securities and/or the terms of the Agreement. The Company continues to implement cost-saving measures while it reviews the alternatives that may be available to it, including without limitation, decreasing analog video operations, selling non-core assets and the implementation of various plans of financial restructuring.>>
I am really hoping that CAI will find a way to buy additional time. Given all the remarkable progress to date, it seems to me that it would be in the best interest of all parties - institutional equity holders and bond holders, creditors, equipment suppliers, other MMDS operators, and even the FCC - to step in and do whatever necessary to keep this monster alive until a strategic partnership happens.
Z |
