To: Bernard Levy  who wrote (360 ) 7/31/2000 3:32:09 PM From: Rob Preuss     Respond to    of 369  [GST awaits Aug. 22 auction, prospective bidders shop assets] BILL STEWART VBJ Staff Reporter Although it may be a long shot, there’s still a chance that  GST Telecommuni-cations could emerge from bankruptcy as a  reorganized company. That decision will likely rest with a credit committee, a  representative group of GST’s creditors, which is trying to  recover the $1.2 billion in debt that GST accumulated over  the last few years. With 35 companies registered to submit  bids on GST’s assets, it’s a good bet that the creditors will  be able to recover a substantial portion of the outstanding debt. However, if the largest bid, or bids, fall short of the  credit committee’s expectations, it’s possible the Vancouver  company could stay in business. When GST declared bankruptcy in May, the company also signed  a letter of intent with Time Warner Telecom to sell its  assets for $450 million, which would have returned  approximately 38 cents on the dollar to GST’s creditors.  However, the credit committee decided that figure was too low  and the deadline for the sale was allowed to pass. So, it’s unlikely that the bidding for GST’s assets will  start any lower than $450 million. But with the company’s  fiber-optic network worth an estimated $1 billion, the  creditors still might not be able to recoup all the money  they loaned GST. Originally, the Bankruptcy Court of Delaware, where GST is  incorporated, set July 31 as the deadline for companies to  submit bids. But that deadline was pushed back to Aug. 11 to  give the 35 interested companies more time to assess the  value of GST’s assets. An auction will then be held Aug. 22  in New York. It’s possible that several companies would bid on just a  portion of GST’s assets. So, it’s conceivable the credit  committee could accept a combination of bids. By breaking up  the assets, it could make them worth more than it would if  they are sold in a package. It’s virtually anyone’s guess on what might happen. The  people at GST are simply hoping for the best deal possible. “When we went into bankruptcy, the objective has been to  maximize the value of the assets,” said Kira Higgs, GST’s  director of communications. In order to submit informed bids, many of the 35 companies  have been allowed to conduct site inspections at GST’s  Vancouver headquarters and its network outposts around the  West Coast. Part of the due diligence process has included  looking at GST’s financial records, and that alone has kept many of the people busy at the Vancouver office. “The people in some of our departments are working very, very  hard,” Higgs said. “Every day these companies are calling and  asking for more reports.” Despite being aced out from its initial takeover attempt,  Time Warner has joined the current due diligence process and  is expected to submit an updated bid. Shortly before Time  Warner’s letter of intent elapsed, AT&T also expressed  interest in GST’s assets. It’s unknown what other companies  are involved, because the court prevents GST from revealing  their identities. However, Higgs did say that companies are extremely  interested in retaining many of GST’s employees. By acquiring  a network as large as GST’s, most companies would have to  hire additional employees to keep it operating. Many people  figure it would be smart to just keep GST’s employees. “That’s why we worked so hard to be in open communications  with our employees,” Higgs said. “Because it’s not just our  physical assets. Many of the companies have expressed that  they’re as interested in the employees as they are in the  assets.” Shortly after GST filed for Chapter 11, which gives it the  opportunity to reorganize, some of the company’s employees  fled for other jobs. But Higgs said it was hardly the mass  exodus that was first reported. “Have we lost employees? Yes. Was it as bad as it could have  been? Absolutely not,” she said. However, it certainly helped when the bankruptcy court  approved a plan for GST to dole out $6.1 million in incentive  bonuses to keep its key employees on board. “I think it’s helped quite a bit,” Higgs said. “I think our  employees have a great deal of confidence and trust in the  leadership they see in Tom Malone (GST’s president and acting  chief executive officer). What Tom is doing in terms of  providing open, honest communication to the employees is  making many of them stay and see GST through this  transition.” While most of the focus has been on GST’s employees and the  value of its assets, the company’s shareholders seem to have  gotten lost in the shuffle. Some of them have completely given up hope of ever recovering  any of the money they invested. Others are holding onto the  slim chance that a bidding war could develop between the 35  companies interested in GST’s assets, which could reap a  windfall greater than the $1.2 billion debt. One group of investors figured its best chance to recoup its  investment was to force GST out of bankruptcy, but an attempt  to file a motion to dismiss apparently failed to get off the  ground. The lone remaining option, according to some of the investors  who communicate on the Yahoo message board, is to file a  lawsuit against GST’s executives and board of directors for  alleged mismanagement and negligence.