VERIZON International has given its company in the CNMI up to June 30 to close the $60 million purchase deal with Pacific Telecom, according to Jose Ricardo Delgado, chief financial officer of Citadel Holdings, Inc.
The Commonwealth Telecommunications Commission has also been notified by Verizon International Vice President John Dodson about this deadline.
Pacific Telecom, a consortium consisting of Citadel Holdings, Tan Holdings and a Hong Kong-based firm, won the bidding for Verizon last year.
Once the purchase deal is sealed, the Philippine-based Citadel will have 50 percent share of Verizon’s assets, Tan Holdings will have 30 percent share, and Michael Leung will have a 20 percent share.
Verizon International, along with other international telecommunications companies, are currently selling assets in small markets due to financial setbacks.
“They are determined to sell these assets by June 30 so there’s a lot of pressure from the head office on the Verizon people here on Saipan to get this thing done. They are frantic—they were planning to sell this six months ago,” Delgado told Variety in an interview yesterday.
CTC is reviewing the purchase application filed by Pacific Telecom on April 18.
Without an approved application from CTC, Verizon would not be allowed to sell its assets.
J. Michael Fitzgerald, CTC vice chairman, said in a separate interview yesterday that the commission had been notified about the June 30 deadline recently.
“Pacific Telecom is very cooperative with us. Verizon (International) told us that they don’t want to spend more money here for upgrades, etc., because the sale is pending. CTC, for its part, is in the middle of the review process. We are thoroughly analyzing all the data we asked them to submit, because we have a public trust to protect,” Fitzgerald said.
Verizon has already incurred about $1 million in purchase-related expenses like legal fees.
Anthony Mosley, Verizon’s acting general manager, said yesterday that the ongoing purchase issue would not affect the telecommunications company’s services.
Verizon has a “natural” monopoly on local, long distance and wireless telecommunications services in the CNMI.
Top officials and lawyers of CTC, Citadel Holdings and Tan Holdings held a meeting on Thursday afternoon to discuss the progress of the purchase deal and the status of the purchase application.
Fitzgerald said that during the meeting, CTC requested Pacific Telecom to submit its master plan for Verizon, among other data.
“We wanted to know what their plans are once they take over Verizon, what they intend to do in the next two or three years, when they are going to close the deal, what will happen to the rates, and so on,” said Fitzgerald.
Delgado said Pacific Telecom furnished the commission with a 12-page power point presentation of its master plan on Friday, along with character references for Citadel Holdings.
“We have given them all the information they requested, like what we are going to do with the company, the long distance business, the cellular business, customer service, etc. We are happy to supply them with more data if needed. The commission and Pacific Telecom have a very cooperative relationship,” said Delgado.
The purchase deal will also not increase the fees and service charges by Verizon, Delgado and Mosley said.
Present in that meeting on Capitol Hill last week were Fitzgerald, Delgado, Mosley, Tan Holdings President Willie Tan, acting CTC Executive Director Adam Turner and the lawyers of Pacific Telecom.
Delgado, in a meeting with Verizon officials, employees and union members on Friday, assured that Pacific Telecom would “keep the same people.”
Verizon’s current management team will also stay intact, he added.
Pacific Telecom will have a chief executive officer to run the company, he said.
Delgado said the consortium has already hired former Verizon official, Bob Anderson, as CEO.
“This guy is supposed to think strategically, because we want to expand this business. That is our goal—we need someone with that kind of experience. The guy we’ve chosen is Bob Anderson, an ex-Verizon guy. He’s 60 years old and has already spent 30 years in the business,” said Delgado.
