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TNDan21 · 02-01-2007, 5:09 PM

SunCom reaches deal to reduce debt, pursues ‘strategic alternatives’
By Kelly Hill
Story posted: February 1, 2007 - 1:55 pm EDT

Regional wireless operator SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. has reached an agreement with its bondholders to reduce its debt, and also hired a company to advise it on its options, including a possible sale.

SunCom’s stock was de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange in mid-December because the company had not consistently met the exchange’s requirement for a market capitalization of at least $100 million. The stock, under the ticker symbol SWSH, is now traded over the counter. The company has said it will appeal the de-listing.

In the meantime, the company made an agreement with bondholders who own more than 91 percent of some of its notes, to exchange the notes for about 87 percent of SunCom’s common stock. The exchange will be completed in the second quarter of 2007, subject to regulatory conditions and shareholder approval. The deal will reduce SunCom’s debt by nearly $680 million and its annual interest payments by about $62 million. The company also made a deal to sell its 69 U.S. towers to SBA Communications Inc. for $18 million, and now will rent the towers instead of owning them; that transaction is expected to close in the first quarter.

SunCom also hired Goldman, Sachs & Co. as its advisor on the pursuit of “strategic alternatives, including the potential sale of substantially all of its business,” the company said.

SunCom, which previously operated as an AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliate under the Triton PCS name, has struggled following Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s acquisition of AWS in late 2004 and subsequent agreement with Cingular to end its affiliate arrangement.

http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...1005/1001/FREE

MOTOhooligan · 02-01-2007, 5:12 PM

“strategic alternatives, including the potential sale of substantially all of its business,”

"Strategic alternatives," eh? They're selling, they have no other choice. That's just a pleasant euphemism for saying they ran the company into the ground.

Alienware_51 · 02-01-2007, 5:34 PM

Just wondering, (ex: Cellular One is the 8th largest wireless carrier in the US) than what is SunCom, 7th, 9th??

blsemp · 02-01-2007, 6:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MOTOhooligan

"Strategic alternatives," eh? They're selling, they have no other choice. That's just a pleasant euphemism for saying they ran the company into the ground.

You hit the nail on the head.

UFO · 02-01-2007, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alienware_51

Just wondering, (ex: Cellular One is the 8th largest wireless carrier in the US) than what is SunCom, 7th, 9th??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...hone_companies

Not every company reports numbers but not counting MVNOs I count SunCom out to be the 10th largest carrier in the US.
AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Alltel, USCC, Metro, Cricket, and Dobson all report more customers than SunCom's 750,000.

In a way, I do hate to see SunCom go bust because that's 3/4 of a million people that will be moved onto another carrier. A big draw to a lot of them was SunCom's UnPlan which isn't an option with anybody else in the Carolinas.

TNDan21 · 02-02-2007, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UFO

AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Alltel, USCC, Metro, Cricket, and Dobson all report more customers than SunCom's 750,000.

Your numbers are a bit off, SunCom now has a little over one million customers.

UFO · 02-02-2007, 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TNDan21

Your numbers are a bit off, SunCom now has a little over one million customers.

It depends on how you count it and here's the link to their 3Q statement. I was just talking about their US market since that article just compares US carriers.

750,423 US Subscribers, another 296,407 in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands at the end of 3Q.

Fire14 · 02-03-2007, 12:56 AM

It's about time, now to see who is going to buy them up. I do hope it's T-Mobile, since they need that area & it would be a good fit for them.

Maybe this is what T-Mobile was waiting for?

Matt · 02-04-2007, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TNDan21

In the meantime, the company made an agreement with bondholders who own more than 91 percent of some of its notes, to exchange the notes for about 87 percent of SunCom’s common stock. The exchange will be completed in the second quarter of 2007, subject to regulatory conditions and shareholder approval.

I missed this news, but if I am reading this correcty (I didn't read the filing) then it's pretty much like a bankruptcy in terms of control - the bondholders will be driving since they will own 87 % of the stock, and they'll sell IMO to get their money back.

Finally, it looks like a time for T-Mobile. This conversion of $680M for 87% of the company values the company at around $750M now.

Matt · 02-04-2007, 12:20 AM

...a reverse stock split is never good, the new 10 member board will have 8 new members, etc.

Matt · 02-04-2007, 12:22 AM

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da...111cexv2w2.htm

Some sort of internal merger....

hf1khal · 02-04-2007, 12:57 AM

Prettty much preps the company for the sale process.

02-01-2007, 5:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
TNDan21 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Kingsport, TN Posts: 5,956 Phone(s): LG enV2, Samsung t219 Provider(s): Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile Devices: iPod Nano Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	SunCom reaches deal to reduce debt, pursues ‘strategic alternatives’ SunCom reaches deal to reduce debt, pursues ‘strategic alternatives’ By Kelly Hill Story posted: February 1, 2007 - 1:55 pm EDT Regional wireless operator SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. has reached an agreement with its bondholders to reduce its debt, and also hired a company to advise it on its options, including a possible sale. SunCom’s stock was de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange in mid-December because the company had not consistently met the exchange’s requirement for a market capitalization of at least $100 million. The stock, under the ticker symbol SWSH, is now traded over the counter. The company has said it will appeal the de-listing. In the meantime, the company made an agreement with bondholders who own more than 91 percent of some of its notes, to exchange the notes for about 87 percent of SunCom’s common stock. The exchange will be completed in the second quarter of 2007, subject to regulatory conditions and shareholder approval. The deal will reduce SunCom’s debt by nearly $680 million and its annual interest payments by about $62 million. The company also made a deal to sell its 69 U.S. towers to SBA Communications Inc. for $18 million, and now will rent the towers instead of owning them; that transaction is expected to close in the first quarter. SunCom also hired Goldman, Sachs & Co. as its advisor on the pursuit of “strategic alternatives, including the potential sale of substantially all of its business,” the company said. SunCom, which previously operated as an AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliate under the Triton PCS name, has struggled following Cingular Wireless L.L.C.’s acquisition of AWS in late 2004 and subsequent agreement with Cingular to end its affiliate arrangement. http://www.rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...1005/1001/FREE

02-01-2007, 5:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
MOTOhooligan 1.21 Gigawatts!!!!! Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Shermer, Illinois Posts: 6,683 Phone(s): w490, V3t, v620, Q, K1m Provider(s): Voicestream Wireless, Western Wireless Devices: Motorola S805, Motorola HS350 Thanks: 1 Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts Images: 20	Re: SunCom reaches deal to reduce debt, pursues ‘strategic alternatives’ “strategic alternatives, including the potential sale of substantially all of its business,” "Strategic alternatives," eh? They're selling, they have no other choice. That's just a pleasant euphemism for saying they ran the company into the ground. __________________ Who needs an iPhone when you've got a 2GB memory card, AD2P Bluetooth support and a wireless stereo headset?

02-01-2007, 5:34 PM	#3 (permalink)
Alienware_51 - a Mobile Enthusiast. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 911 Phone(s): BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve Provider(s): American Telephone & Telegraph Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts Images: 8	Re: SunCom reaches deal to reduce debt, pursues ‘strategic alternatives’ Just wondering, (ex: Cellular One is the 8th largest wireless carrier in the US) than what is SunCom, 7th, 9th?? __________________ I am a part of the BlackBerry Addicts Group

02-03-2007, 12:56 AM	#8 (permalink)
Fire14 Easy,Cheap & Sleazy Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Union County NJ Posts: 8,331 Phone(s): Razr V3xx, enV, Adventure, 6010 Provider(s): AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile ToGo Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 293 My Auctions	Re: SunCom reaches deal to reduce debt, pursues ‘strategic alternatives’ It's about time, now to see who is going to buy them up. I do hope it's T-Mobile, since they need that area & it would be a good fit for them. Maybe this is what T-Mobile was waiting for?

02-04-2007, 12:20 AM	#10 (permalink)
Matt Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Lititz, Pa. Posts: 4,695 Phone(s): BlackBerry Pearl Provider(s): T-Mobile Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 2	Re: SunCom reaches deal to reduce debt, pursues ‘strategic alternatives’ ...a reverse stock split is never good, the new 10 member board will have 8 new members, etc. __________________ Join the T-Mobile Group Forum (or any other!) ...a/k/a cheerioboy26 elsewhere on the net....

02-04-2007, 12:22 AM	#11 (permalink)
Matt Super Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Lititz, Pa. Posts: 4,695 Phone(s): BlackBerry Pearl Provider(s): T-Mobile Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Images: 2	Re: SunCom reaches deal to reduce debt, pursues ‘strategic alternatives’ http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/da...111cexv2w2.htm Some sort of internal merger.... __________________ Join the T-Mobile Group Forum (or any other!) ...a/k/a cheerioboy26 elsewhere on the net....

02-04-2007, 12:57 AM	#12 (permalink)
hf1khal Who am I to judge Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ashburn VA Posts: 1,794 Phone(s): iphon3G,Tilt,BB8800,Razr2, BB Pearl & Moto A780 Provider(s): AT&T Mobility, MTC, Wataniya Devices: MP3, GPS & PDA Thanks: 4 Thanked 8 Times in 5 Posts	Re: SunCom reaches deal to reduce debt, pursues ‘strategic alternatives’ Prettty much preps the company for the sale process.

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