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Servus an alle, servus Bannermann ! Heute ists doch auch nicht schlecht, die nächsten 50 % sind gemacht. Grund: Covad extends gains Plus: PayPal gets preliminary pricing By Bambi Francisco, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 11:52 AM ET Dec. 17, 2001 SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Covad Communications shot up as much as 52 percent Monday in anticipation of the DSL provider emerging from bankruptcy protection this week. When the high-speed Internet access provider emerges on Thursday, it will be one of the few telecom companies to successfully emerge from Chapter 11. "Fewer than 5 percent of telecom companies emerge from Chapter 11," said Jack Williams, executive director of the America Bankruptcy Institute. Covad Communications (COVD: news, chart, profile) ran up more than 35 percent to $1.93 on heavy volume in recent trading. Shares have recovered since trading in the 30-cent range between July and mid-October. By early November, shares were nearing $1. Frank Marshall, interim CEO and a director, bought a total of 1.5 million shares during the month, while Robert Hawk, a member of the board bought 100,000 shares on Nov. 26 at $1.04 each. By November 13, the announcement of SBC Communications` (SBC: news, chart, profile) $150 million funding helped Covad`s shares spike above $1. Covad`s emergence from reorganization and use of Chapter 11 as a financial tool to relinquish $1.4 billion in debt is a model for many companies still struggling under the crushing weight of debt. Rather than raise capital and then re-negotiate its debt, co-founder Chuck Haas said the company went straight to creditors first and began slashing expenses last year. "This was a year-long process," Hass said in an interview with CBS.MarketWatch.com. See interview with Covad`s Haas. Other telecom companies may have waited too long to restructure their debt, leaving themselves little time and leverage to have a successful restructuring that leaves shareholders with a majority-ownership of the company. Indeed, Exodus Communications (EXDS: news, chart, profile) (EXDSQ: news, chart, profile), ExciteAtHome (ATHMQ: news, chart, profile), Rhythms NetConnections and NorthPoint have fallen into Chapter 11 and are among those that haven`t emerged, leaving shareholders with nothing. XO Communications (XOXO: news, chart, profile) is still in the process of working through its debt load. Shares of XO dropped 43 percent to 8 cents. By restructuring early, Covad was able to stay focused on operations. For the first nine months of this year, the company generated $243.1 million, up 135 percent over the same period a year ago. Loss from operations in the same period fell from $500 million last year to $424.6 million, including $19.6 million in charges for restructuring and adjustments to the recorded value of long-lived assets. Now, the company will end the year with $300 million in cash, a $20 million burn-rate, said Haas. Getting bloated Covad went public in January 1999 at split-adjusted price of $8. At the time, Bear Stearns helped the company raise $161 million in capital. In June 1999, the company raised another $327 million in a follow-on offering. By November of 1999, the company raised another $642.8 million through Bear Stearns. The company raised $636 million in straight debt over two years beginning in February 1999. Covad also raised a convertible debt offering of $500 million in September 2000, according to Dealogic. Speaking of raising funds in the public market, PayPal (PAPXX: news, chart, profile), which enables payments over the Internet, set its IPO price range of between $12 and $14. Salomon Smith Barney is leading the $70 million offering. PayPal`s service is widely adopted on EBay`s (EBAY: news, chart, profile) site even though the online auctioneer has a competing service called Online Payments, formerly known as Billpoint. According to PayPal`s filing, for the nine months ending September 30, 2001, about 68 percent of dollar payments made through PayPal were settlements of purchases made at online auction sites, particularly EBay. Other online payment providers include Yahoo (YHOO: news, chart, profile) PayDirect and C2it, which is offered by Citigroup. C2it has existing arrangements with AOL Time Warner (AOL: news, chart, profile) and Microsoft (MSFT: news, chart, profile), according to PayPal`s filing V.Mac |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Covad - Himmel oder Hölle |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | V.Mac (17.12.01 20:27:48) |
| Beitrag: | 55 von 149 (ID:5156356) |
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