HONOLULU, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Hawaiian Telcom Inc., burdened with a heavy debt load, may seek bankruptcy protection, company officials say.
The Honolulu utility revealed in a Friday filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission that it's negotiating with its creditors to convert some of the company's debt into stock, The Honolulu Advertiser reported.
"We have begun a restructuring process in an effort to make Hawaiian Telcom a stronger and more financially secure company as we continue to manage in this extremely challenging operating environment," Hawaiian Telcom Chief Executive Officer Eric Yeaman said in a news release.
Records show the company is carrying has about $1 billion in debt, including $574.5 million in bank loans and about $500 million in bonds, the newspaper said. The debt was used to finance The Carlyle Group's $1.6 billion takeover of the local phone company in 2005.
