Teligent acquisition collapses

A management-led bid to purchase bankrupt fixed-wireless CLEC Teligent has failed because of a lack of funding, according to reports.

As a result, Teligent is laying off 300 of its 500 employees today after operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since May,. The company also is informing 7000 of its 11,000 customers that they will be transitioned to other communications providers in the next month.

The prospects of another buyer surfacing are slim, said Michael Speyer, director of small and medium sized business communications for The Yankee Group. Of the company’s two main assets, fixed wireless is not “vogue” now, and the customer base is being gutted, he said.

“When they were in Chapter 11, that was a time for an acquirer to come along,” he said. “The fact that there was no acquirer that came along that could offer a better deal than the management buyout tells you something,” he said.

Jim Continenza--Teligent’s COO and head of Teligent Acquisition Corp., the group attempting to purchase the company--said the worsened economic environment resulting from the Sept. 11 attacks made the task of raising $77.5 million to purchase Teligent’s 11-city network more difficult, according to reports.

In an SEC filing, Teligent said limited operations will continue.

“The company will continue to provide facilities-based private line, transport and wholesale services as well as resold services in all 74 markets where it holds fixed-wireless licenses,” the filing states.

Continenza reportedly said management will focus on finding buyers for its remaining wholesale operations and has no plans to liquidate.