Hawaiian Telcom: No Longer Bankrupt

Hawaiian Telcom has emerged from bankruptcy with a debt load thats more than $850 million lighter.

The ILEC went bankrupt about two years ago, after being purchased by private equity firm Carlyle Group in 2005. Hawaiian Telcom now holds $300 million in debt and plans to emphasize its wholesale services, since consumer demand for wireline products is dwindling.

[E]very telecom or communications company that does business in Hawaii uses us in some sort of way,” Brian Tanner, director of investor relations, told Bloombergs BusinessWeek.

Carlyle Group bought Hawaiian Telcom from Verizon Communications Inc. for $1.6 billion. But Carlyle Group no longer has a stake in the carrier, Tanner said. The Hawaiian Telcom bankruptcy was the second in 2008 for one of Carlyle Groups holdings.

Hawaiian Telcom is Hawaiis largest local phone company; it owned 463,490 access lines as of March 31, down from 499,870 subscribers a year earlier.