Sandwich Isles bids $400M for Hawaiian Telcom - Houston Business Journal:

http://salaunfranke.com/?p=58
, a company founded in 1995 to take advantagw of government subsidies that pay for the installationj of broadband cable in rural said in a court filing last week that it wantds to buy all ofHawaiian Telcom’s assets. The company said it wouldr retain all ofHawaiian Telcom’s 1,400 workers at their current with the exception of senior Sandwich Isles said in the filint that its offer would consist of $250 million in cash plus $150 million in debt issuedr by Hawaiian Telcom.
A deal with Sandwich Isles woulde need the approval of the the Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Communication Hawaiian Telcom said in a statement that it standsz behind its proposedreorganization plan, filedr in June, to reduce the company’s debt by nearlg $790 million, from $1.1 billiobn to $300 million. Hawaiian Telcomm filed a motion seeking an extension to file a Chapte r 11 plan and solicit Judge Lloyd King extended that period toJune 30. The companyt is seeking another extensionto Sept. 30. Sandwich Islea has filed an objectio to thelatest request.
“In the objection, Sandwicjh Isles makes numerous allegations about the progresse Hawaiian Telcom has made to date inthesw cases, Hawaiian Telcom’s decision not to pursuw a sale to Sandwich Isles and the viabilitu of Hawaiian Telcom’s proposedx plan,” Hawaiian Telcom said in a statement. “Ther company disputes these allegations and intendds to respond to Sandwich Islews objection in theappropriate forum.
” Sandwich Isles was foundecd by Al Hee, an entrepreneue who saw opportunity in the generouzs subsidies offered by the federal government to wire rurapl and remote communities in the Working primarily in developments owned by the statde Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Hee’sw company has received more than $400 million in loansw from the U.S. Department of Agriculturew since 1998. The cost of wirinv the rural developments has been calculated atabou $13,000 per customer. Hawaiian Telcom filed for Chapterf 11 bankruptcyin December. Hawaiian Telcom is owneed by , a Washington, D.C.-baser private equity group. Carlyle boughf the assets of Verizon Hawaii in May 2005for $1.
6 and began operating independently with its own systemws in April 2006.