I read the 50-page document several times but I still can’t find the reorganization plan that is supposed to be included in Pocket Communication Inc.’s reorganization plan submitted to a Maryland bankruptcy court Sept. 29. What I did read was page after page of legalese that would confuse all but the most astute of financial attorneys.
Maybe I was looking for the wrong thing. Nowhere did I find a revised management hierarchy, coupled with revamped salaries. There wasn’t an investor to be found, and there was no solid business plan. Instead of addressing how it would deal with its licenses, Pocket only listed the FCC’s recently adopted four financial restructuring options as possibilities. And if worse comes to worst, Pocket plans to sue the commission to get some of its money back.
Did I miss something in all those words? Where are the numbers? Where’s the beef? Maybe everything will be made crystal clear this week if the Baltimore court keeps in place its scheduled hearing on this document, although I understand an extension is in the works.
C-block player, loser and fighter Jack Robinson, who submitted his own Pocket reorganization plan to the court in hopes of a shot at the company, also couldn’t find much relevant info … and he’s a bankruptcy lawyer! He thinks Pocket’s plan may fall flat because of its lack of financial disclosure, but he also knows the judge handling this case usually sides with the debtor.
Without cold, hard cash, Pocket will be hard-pressed to move forward as a viable personal communications services provider … in any market. And because of the number of bills being presented to Pocket’s bankruptcy committee (some totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars) by accounting services and others that have been working for Pocket, they may not make it to Thanksgiving, much less to a Jan. 15 decision date as to which FCC option it will take.
And that’s what Robinson is hoping. With a substantial financial deal going with a recognized investment institution, he believes his reorganization proposal is the more attractive to Pocket’s investors and creditors. Thinking ahead, he’s even been in preliminary talks with another major C-block player regarding possible partnership opportunities, a deal that would give a potential merger a truly nationwide CDMA PCS footprint right off the bat. Add to that a nice brand name like MCI, and you’ve got yourself a going concern. Bernard Ebbers seems to think branding is a good thing, and it may work for Robinson, too.
