BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Nextel’s international operator, NII Holdings, informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it was unable to comply with a due date on 31 December in Argentina for US$8.3 million and that it has reached an agreement with its creditors to postpone the payment. At the same time, NII Holdings began to renegotiate its entire debt of US$490 million with Motorola, a group of banks and bondholders.
During the presentation made to the SEC, the company mentioned that the possible alternatives range from successful restructuring of the debt to declaring bankruptcy, because there is no possibility of reinsuring the renegotiations.
“The company has built itself based on access to the financial market, but since the world’s financial situation has changed, we are discussing new conditions for the financing and payment of our debt with our creditors,” said Mario Carotti, vice president of marketing and communications for NII Holdings. On the other hand, Veronica Alvarez Puente, press chief for Nextel Argentina, said the US$8.3 million dollar debt renegotiated by the local branch “is Nextel Argentina’s only obligation included in the restructuring process being carried out by NII Holdings Inc.”
Also, both executives said that all branches are operating normally in each country in which they have a presence.
NII Holdings is owned by U.S.-based Nextel International and has 1.2 million subscribers in Brazil, M
