Mexican telecom firm in talks to restructure debt

Mexico City, June 19 (IANS/EFE) Mexico's Maxcom Telecomunicaciones said Tuesday it was looking to raise new capital and restructure debt after failing to make an interest payment.

In a filing with the Mexican Stock Exchange, Maxcom said it would use a 30-day grace period with respect to Tuesday's scheduled interest payment of roughly $11 million to continue talks with a new investor and certain of its bondholders with a view to recapitalizing and reorganizing the company's debt.

The telecommunications company said it was prudent to use the grace period to implement a "comprehensive recapitalization" that would significantly reduce its debt-servicing costs and position Maxcom for growth with a $45 million capital infusion.

Maxcom said it already was negotiating the "terms of restructuring and recapitalization agreements..."

"No assurances can be given that a proposed recapitalization and restructuring will be successful or that holders of Maxcom's debt obligations and/or relevant stakeholders will reach an agreement," the company added.

If no consensus is reached among a significant portion of the company's creditors, the company "may be forced to file for bankruptcy or consurso mercantil (insolvency)", Maxcom said.

A failure to restructure the company's debt "could have a material adverse effect on the business or the interests of holders of Maxcom's debt and equity securities", the company said.

Since 1999, Maxcom has offered local and long-distance telephony, data, paid TV and IP-based services to micro, small and medium-sized businesses, as well as residential customers, in the Mexican market.

The company operates a 6,421-km fiber-optic network and has a presence in 62 Mexican cities.

--IANS/EFE

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