Pac-West Telecomm, Inc. Files Plan of Reorganization
06 August 2007 - 11:59PM
PR Newswire (US)
- Major milestone in Pac-West's reorganization following its April
2007 Chapter 11 filing - Disclosure statement describing Plan of
Reorganization submitted for approval of Bankruptcy Court prior to
solicitation of creditor votes - Plan consistent with future
western US market focus - Plan provides that upon exit from Chapter
11, Pac-West will be owned by the Plan sponsor s, which are
affiliates of existing investor Columbia Ventures Corporation
STOCKTON, Calif., Aug. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pac-West
Telecomm, Inc. (OTC:PACW), a wholesale provider of advanced
telecommunications services, announced today that it and its
subsidiaries have filed their Joint Plan of Reorganization ("Plan")
and disclosure statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
District of Delaware. Pac-West must first obtain Bankruptcy Court
approval for the disclosure statement, which provides details
regarding the Company, the Chapter 11 cases and the Plan, before
the Company can solicit votes on its Plan. Following Court approval
of the disclosure statement, the Plan would become effective only
after receiving the votes required under bankruptcy law,
confirmation by the Court and satisfaction of the conditions
contained in the Plan. The Plan provides that upon exit from
Chapter 11, the capital stock of Pac-West will be owned by an
affiliate of Columbia Ventures Corporation (CVC). Through
affiliates, CVC is an existing investor and secured lender to
Pac-West and has provided debtor-in-possession financing through
the reorganization process. Michael Katzenstein, Pac-West's Chief
Restructuring Officer, said, "We are pleased to have reached this
important milestone in Pac-West's reorganization and we look
forward to obtaining Bankruptcy Court approval to present this Plan
and disclosure statement to our creditors. Upon consummation of the
Plan, Pac-West's balance sheet will be significantly stronger. Its
return to financial health will enable it to compete more
effectively in the marketplace, continue to provide excellent
customer service and introduce innovative new services." He noted
that the Plan is the product of discussions with key creditor
groups, carriers, suppliers and CVC and believes that the Plan is
in the best interests of all constituents. Wally Griffin,
Pac-West's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, noted
that the Plan is consistent with the Company's recently-announced
business plan to grow in its western US markets. In July, Pac-West
announced plans to exit the 24 states and the District of Columbia
that are now served by the Company's eastern network and to
concentrate on states served by its western network. He also
praised the Company's customers and management team and thanked
them. "Our team's sustained focus on customer service and network
reliability has earned the support of customers and I am grateful
for the support of both," he said. Jim Hensel, Senior Vice
President at CVC, said, "Pac-West is poised to exit from Chapter 11
with profitable operations and a great customer base in attractive
markets. CVC is very pleased by this important step, which puts
Pac-West on track for exit by the end of the year. We have worked
closely with the dynamic and customer-focused Pac-West team and we
are eager to foster Pac-West's continuing growth and success."
About Pac-West Telecomm, Inc. Pac-West is a provider of advanced
communications services that enable traditional and next-generation
providers, carriers, and service providers to efficiently design,
deploy, and deliver integrated communication solutions. Founded in
1980, Pac-West Telecomm, Inc. has been offering communication
services to its customers since 1982 and has been a leading
provider of wholesale services to Internet Service Providers. For
more information about Pac-West and its reorganization, visit
http://www.pacwest.com/. Forward Looking Statements In this report,
our use of the words "outlook," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate,"
"forecast," "project," "likely," "objective," "plan," "designed,"
"goal," "target," and similar expressions is intended to identify
forward- looking statements. While these statements represent our
current judgment on what the future may hold, and we believe these
judgments are reasonable, actual results may differ materially due
to numerous important risk factors, including risk factors
described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended
December 31, 2005, as filed with the SEC on March 29, 2006, as
revised and supplemented by the risk factors described in our
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31,
2006, June 30, 2006 and September 30, 2006, as filed with the SEC
on May 12, 2006, August 11, 2006 and November 20, 2006
respectively, and which may be further revised or supplemented in
subsequent reports filed by us with the SEC. Such risk factors
include, but are not limited to risks associated with: our ability
to successfully reorganize under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy
Code; our ability to comply with the covenants contained in, or the
possibility of triggering a default under, our DIP financing
facility; our ability to execute our business plans and objectives;
our ability to retain customers, suppliers; vendors, partners and
employees during our reorganization; regulatory and legal
uncertainty with respect to intercarrier compensation payments
received by us; the migration to broadband Internet access
affecting dial-up Internet access; an increase in our network
expenses; our principal competitors for local services and
potential additional competitors, which may have advantages that
may adversely affect our ability to compete with them. DATASOURCE:
Pac-West Telecomm, Inc. CONTACT: Millie Virgil of Pac-West
Telecomm, Inc., +1-209-926-3490 Web site: http://www.pacwest.com/
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