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Hey, guess what? Ed’s on holiday!

I suspended him from posting. Someone remind me to turn it back on on Aug 23rd.

-Ian.

Ed Hargrave wrote:>
> I will be out of the office until August 23, 1999.
> If this matter is urgent. please contact Mike Antoniak
> at 604.473.9883 or mikea [at] microserve [dot] ca.
>
> Best Regards,
> Ed Hargrave
>
> >>> “foib [at] egroups [dot] com” 08/13/99 14:27 >>>
>
> I will be out of the office until August 23, 1999.
> If this matter is urgent. please contact Mike Antoniak
> at 604.473.9883 or mikea [at] microserve [dot] ca.
>
> Best Regards,
> Ed Hargrave
>
> >>> “foib [at] egroups [dot] com” 08/13/99 14:25 >>>
>
> I will be out of the office until August 23, 1999.
> If this matter is urgent. please contact Mike Antoniak
> at 604.473.9883 or mikea [at] microserve [dot] ca.
>
> Best Regards,
> Ed Hargrave
>
> >>> “foib [at] egroups [dot] com” 08/13/99 14:24 >>>
>
> I will be out of the office until August 23, 1999.
> If this matter is urgent. please contact Mike Antoniak
> at 604.473.9883 or mikea [at] microserve [dot] ca.
>
> Best Regards,
> Ed Hargrave
>
> >>> “foib [at] egroups [dot] com” 08/13/99 14:22 >>>
>
> I will be out of the office until August 23, 1999.
> If this matter is urgent. please contact Mike Antoniak
> at 604.473.9883 or mikea [at] microserve [dot] ca.
>
> Best Regards,
> Ed Hargrave
>
> >>> “foib [at] egroups [dot] com” 08/13/99 14:18 >>>
>
> http://cbs.marketwatch.com/archive/19990813/news/current/irid.htx
> http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,40492,00.html?st.ne.fd.mdh.ni
> http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,40407,00.html?st.ne.ni.rel
>
> -Ian.
>
> –=–
>
> Chapter 11 filed against Iridium
> Interest payment of $90 million due Sunday
>
> By Debra McGarry, CBS MarketWatch
> Last Update: 4:42 PM ET Aug 13, 1999
> Movers & Shakers
>
> WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS.MW) — A group of investors filed an involuntary
> Chapter 11 bankruptcy
> petition against financially troubled Iridium World Communications on
> Friday, two days after the
> company defaulted on over $1.5 billion in loans.
>
> “It became clear to the various parties at interest that a Chapter 11 filing
> was inevitable and, unless
> drastic action was taken, the company’s assets could be at serious risk,”
> said Talton Embry of
> Magten Asset Management Corporation, a member of the beleaguered company’s
> steering
> committee, in a statement.
>
> Iridium (IRID: news, msgs) has 20 days to respond to the involuntary
> petition and can continue to
> operate its business in the ordinary course.
>
> On Wednesday, Iridium said it defaulted on more than $1.5 billion in loans
> after failing to meet
> customer and revenue growth targets required on an $800 million loan, the
> third extension of which
> expired Wednesday.
>
> The expiration triggered the default on that loan and another for $750
> million. Iridium did not seek
> another extension, spokeswoman Michelle Lyle told Reuters.
>
> The default also delivered a blow to Motorola (MOT: news, msgs), Iridium’s
> 18 percent owner, and its
> loan guarantor. Motorola shares gained 5 1/4 to close at 93 amid an overall
> market rally.
>
> Motorola issued a statement on Thursday in which it reiterated its support
> for Iridium, its operations
> and gateways and all current and future subscribers. However, Iridium’s
> largest shareholder said its
> “willingness to participate in providing additional financial support
> depended on a substantial degree
> of participation in a financial restructuring by all other relevant parties
> with a significant financial
> interest.”
>
> Motorola is the guarantor of the $750 million loan in default. The other
> $800 million loan is secured by
> Chase Manhattan Bank. According to Motorola, creditors have been working on
> plans to restructure
> Iridium’s debt.
>
> The default has hit additional investors, namely Japan’s Nippon Iridium, the
> second largest
> shareholder after Motorola. Japan’s Kyocera (KYO: news, msgs) and
> long-distance phone service
> provider DDI Corp. are the major shareholders of Nippon Iridium. See full
> story.
>
> “It’s in every investor’s interest to keep them (Iridium) out of bankruptcy,
> because bankruptcy shrinks
> the size of the pie available to Motorola, banks, and bondholders,” analyst
> Armand Mussey of Bank
> of America Securities told CBS.Marketwatch.com on Wednesday.
>
> Once Iridium missed its first customer subscription projections, it had less
> revenue available for
> advertising, which resulted in the company missing its revenue and
> subscription projections even
> further. “Then they have so little money left over that the banks start
> coming after them and
> meanwhile all the interest on their loans keeps accumulating,” Mussey said.
>
> On Aug. 15, Iridium must meet a $90 million interest payment on its $1.45
> billion in bonds. The
> payment was originally due July 15, but Iridium exercised a 30-day grace
> period.
>
> Trading in shares of the struggling satellite communications company were
> halted amid a 1 3/16 slide
> to 3 1/16 on volume of of almost 5 million shares.
>
>
>