Charter reportedly hires turnaround expert

Subject:

Comments:
: Paul Allen's Charter hires turnaround expert : By Yinka Adegoke : -------------------------------- : : NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Charter Communications (CHTR.O), the U.S. cable operator controlled by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) co-founder Paul Allen, has hired a turnaround expert as a deadline to meet a missed debt interest payment looms. : Greg Doody, a corporate turnaround lawyer, who worked with Calpine Corp (CPN.N) through its restructuring, is now advising Charter, a person familiar with company said on Friday. : Calpine appointed Doody as general counsel in 2006. Former Calpine Chief Executive Robert May was appointed as director to Charter's board in 2004. : Before Calpine, Doody and May had previously worked together on the turnaround of HealthSouth Corp (HLS.N). : Last month Charter hired Kirkland & Ellis, a law firm with one of the leading bankruptcy practices, according to the source. It also appointed investment bank Lazard LLC last month to initiate the discussions on a reorganization of its debt with bondholders. : Charter, which is still in those reorganization talks, is also preparing a bankruptcy filing, sources told Reuters last month. : The company missed a $73.7 million interest payment that was due on Jan. 14, even though it has more than $900 million in cash available to pay operating costs and expenses. It still has until Feb. 15 as a final deadline before defaulting. : The fourth-largest U.S. cable operator with more than 5 million subscribers, Charter is highly leveraged with more than $21 billion of debt on its balance sheet versus a market capitalization of around $31 million. : The missed payment has prompted speculation among industry watchers that Charter might be trying to conserve cash while working out some form of bankruptcy protection. : The timing of a possible bankruptcy filing is unclear, and there is a possibility that the company could negotiate a so-called "prepackaged" bankruptcy with bondholders. : A prepackaged plan is a cheaper and quicker way to go through the bankruptcy process because major creditors vote on the terms of the bankruptcy plan before it is filed with the court. : In the past some companies have avoided bankruptcy by renegotiating their debt.

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL:

Enter verification code: