Teligent exits bankruptcy

By Susan Rush
From The September 13, 2002 Edition Of CED Broadband Direct

Fixed-wireless broadband provider Teligent Inc. is free from bankruptcy. The company emerged from its Chapter 11 filing today, free of debt.

Teligent has exited the proceedings debt free, fully funded and with all of its fixed wireless assets intact. To erase $1.65 billion in debt, the company swapped its debt for ownership with its creditors. The company's secured lenders -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Toronto Dominion Bank, own 100 percent of the reorganized company's stock.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York approved the reorganization plan last week.

"While this has been a very long and difficult road, we are extremely pleased to complete our reorganization," Teligent's CEO Jim Continenza said in a statement. "We are very excited about moving forward and executing our new business plan," he said.

To protect itself from its creditors, Teligent filed for Chapter 11 in May 2001, after it failed to secure $350 million to make interest payments that had come due.

The company has spectrum licenses in 74 markets. It will continue to sell Internet services to its enterprise customers, transport services to carriers and point-to-point broadband access services to multi-location businesses.