Bigstud is here
17 años hace
Judge OKs Versa Takeover of InPhonic
12.14.07, 1:45 PM ET
PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia's Versa Capital Management won court approval to take over InPhonic Inc., after reaching a deal with creditors of the Web-based retailer of wireless devices and services.
Judge Kevin Gross approved the deal at a hearing Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. In a prepared statement, Versa officials said they believe the business "holds great promise."
The Washington, D.C. company filed for Chapter 11 protection Nov. 8, shortly after Versa positioned itself for the takeover by acquiring $90 million worth of top-level bank debt at a steep discount.
Unsecured creditors opposed Versa's bid to acquire InPhonic (nasdaq: INPC - news - people ), arguing they were getting nothing out of the deal, and therefore, Chapter 11 bankruptcy was not an appropriate forum.
To win creditors over, Versa agreed to help fund wind-down costs, including investigations that could lead to a recovery for the vendors InPhonic is leaving unpaid.
"Versa is making certain funding available so we can get this case resolved in Chapter 11 through a plan," said Claudia Springer of the law firm of Reed Smith, attorney for the official committee of unsecured creditors.
Some creditors will be made whole thanks to the takeover, because the buyers have to make good on old debts owed to vendors whose contracts they want to continue in the revived InPhonic.
"We think this was a good settlement, based on the type of case that it is," Springer, commenting on the urgent need to get the company into new hands if the business is to be preserved.
InPhonic's plunge into bankruptcy followed admissions of flawed accounting and tainted financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for 2006.
Bigstud is here
17 años hace
InPhonic Gets OK to Borrow $2.3M
Associated Press 12.12.07, 12:44 PM ET
WILMINGTON, Del. - Web-based wireless seller InPhonic Inc. has won court approval to borrow $2.3 million in bankruptcy financing from a private-equity firm that is seeking to buy the company.
Judge Kevin Gross approved the financing at a hearing Tuesday, but warned creditors, the company and private-equity firm Versa Capital Management that they "are running very serious risks." The Washington, D.C.-based company, lawyers say, is losing more than $3 million a week, and the interim loan is only enough to cover this week's payroll.
Gross said if the parties don't reach an accord by Thursday, InPhonic (nasdaq: INPC - news - people )'s Chapter 11 bankruptcy could be converted to a shoestring Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding.
InPhonic filed for Chapter 11 protection last month.
No other bidders have stepped forward to top Versa's offer, which consists of canceling debt, rather than coming up with new cash for creditors.
InPhonic attorney Thomas Califano said Versa is the only entity that has offered aid to keep the company running. The company, he said, has had no offer of help from creditor "committee members like Yahoo (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ) and Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) who have more money in the cushions of their couch than would be required" to keep InPhonic alive.
Creditors say it's time for InPhonic to cut its losses and that, since there's no hope for a reorganization, Versa should be forced to exercise its remedies as secured lender to foreclose on the company outside of Chapter 11.
Versa entered the picture shortly before InPhonic's bankruptcy filing, by acquiring about $90 million worth of secured bank debt. It's offering to exchange most of that debt to buy InPhonic in bankruptcy.
According to Versa, unsecured creditors could still get something out of the case. It says it will leave creditors with about $300,000 to try to pursue lawsuits against InPhonic's former leaders, who admitted earlier this year that accounting errors would require restatement of 2006 financial results.
The Chapter 11 filing means creditors would be entitled to the first payout from lawsuits against InPhonic's officers and directors. InPhonic carries about $35 million in insurance for misdeeds by officers and directors, Califano said.
A court-approved Chapter 11 sale offers a neater solution and other advantages to the buyer, when compared with a foreclosure outside bankruptcy. Bankruptcy sales allow buyers to walk away with assets free and clear of prior claims, but a foreclosure could leave Versa battling other InPhonic creditors. Versa says it's not a predator, but a "rescue financier."
Creditors don't like the Chapter 11 sale plan, which they say would leave them with less than they would get if the case was a Chapter 7 liquidation. Versa is the only entity with something to gain from taking over InPhonic in Chapter 11 and that a takeover will only plunge InPhonic further into debt, said Claudia Z. Springer, attorney for the creditors committee.
"We don't want this hole to get any bigger than it currently is," said Springer, who is with the law firm of Reed Smith.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/12/12/ap4432093.html
Hummertt
17 años hace
Dragon, did you not read what they said shares will be worthless so its dead, whom every is playin it now are worst gamblers than we were. They hopin for a spike but it will never go back to where it was.
lost like many of you did
,,,,,,,,,,,