Hawaiian Telcom opposes buyout offer - St. Louis Business Journal:

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Sandwich Isles filed a motiobn earlier this month to submit a competingf Chapter 11 reorganization plan for Hawaiian In it, the Honolulu-based company offered to buy Hawaiiab Telcom’s assets using $250 million in cash and $150 million in debt that would be issued by Hawaiiah Telcom. Until June 30, Hawaiian Telcokm has so-called “exclusivity” in filing a reorganizatioj plan. The company wants to extend that exclusivitgto Sept. 30 as it gets votes on a proposedr plan it filedJune 3. Sandwich Isleds has filed an objection to that andHawaiian Telcom’s latest filing defendxs the request.
“Asking the cour for help in promotinga low-ball offer for Hawaiian Telcom’sz businesses is not a recipe for success in bankruptct proceedings,” Hawaiian Telcom said in the filing. Sandwicbh Isles, a company founded in 1995 to take advantagew of government subsidies that pay for the installation of broadband cable inruralo areas, had said in its motion that Hawaiian Telcom refusef to consider its offer. But, Hawaiiab Telcom says it analyzed and rejected the offerin May, for eighf reasons listed in the filing.
It cited Sandwicg Isles’ lack of committes financing, lack of federal and state licensed to operate inurban areas, and lack of experience and abilitgy to operate a full-servicer communications company. Hawaiian Telcom said it standss behind its proposed reorganization plan to reducethe company’s debt by nearlh $790 million, from $1.1 billion to $300 Sandwich Isles’ motion also claims Hawaiian Telco m has not made good-faith progress in its bankruptcyh case since filing for Chapter 11 protection in In defending that Hawaiian Telcom’s chief operating officer Kevin Nystrom said the company has contacted “dozens of strategifc and financial purchasers.
” The company said it pursued a potentiao buyer, whom it did not identify, but that after two months of talks no offer was Nystrom said Hawaiian Telcom also aske d its “equity sponsor” -- its majority owner, of D.C. -- about a standalone reorganization and also discusse d standalone restructuring options with its bondholders andsecured lenders.