Crowded Skies At Mercer Airport?
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Barbara Fox were prepared for the March 17, 2004
issue of U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
Life in the Fast Lane
At least RCN’s bankruptcy will not be a shock. In a message to
employees on its optimistically-named bankruptcy-update website,
www.rcntomorrow.com, the company reveals that it has been negotiating
with its bankers for debt reduction for three years.
The bankers, in turn, keep allowing the telecommunications company
another fraction of an inch of rope. On Monday, March 15, the
anniversary of the date on which Caesar was slain, the drop dead date
for consensual debt restructuring was moved up yet again, this time to
April Fool’s day.
In announcing the extension, the company also said that it would not
be filing its annual report on time, and had so informed the SEC.
The extension notice followed just three days after RCN replaced its
financial adviser, Merrill Lynch, with the Blackstone Group, the
world’s largest buyout firm. At that time, it also said that Douglas
Bradbury, who was hired in October to head up the protracted
restructuring, had departed. The company’s new president, John Dubel,
will now head up the discussions.
Under its anticipated restructuring, which the company says will be
carried out under Chapter 11 protection, senior notes would be
converted into equity. Its website message to investors says the
effect on their stock would be “extremely significant, if not
complete, dilution of current equity.” In a column published online on
Monday, March 15, Newsweek columnist Allan Sloan comments that the
English language translation of this eventuality is that stock in the
company will become “worthless, or virtually worthless.”
RCN sells bundled Internet, phone, and cable television service to
436,000 customers in major U.S. cities. It has 2,700 employees, and is
vowing to stagger on in the decimated telecommunications industry as
it struggles to get its note holders to agree to the bankruptcy it
sees as its last, best hope.
-Kathleen McGinn Spring
Top Of PageCrowded Skies At Mercer Airport?
Shuttle America has announced that it will stay in Trenton after all.
It made the announcement after another airline eagerly snapped up the
chance to take over the route to Bedford, Massachusetts route. Now two
airlines are flying to the Boston suburb – and a third airline may
move in as well.
Atlantic Coast Airlines, based at Washington-Dulles Airport says that
Trenton is among the 90 potential destinations for its proposed
expansion. It plans to choose 50 of the 90 and add 350 low-fare
flights daily as early as this summer. Atlantic Coast now flies as
part of United Express, but it wants to be independent and operate as
Independence Air.
Shuttle America, Trenton Mercer Airport, West Trenton08628. 888-999-3273. Home page: www.shuttleamerica.comTop Of PageNew in TownYash Technologies, 28A Jefferson Plaza, Princeton 08540.Jacob George. 732-355-9070; fax, 732-355-1123. Www.yash.comEarly in March Jacob George opened a Jefferson Plaza office of theYash Technology IT firm. A native of Cochin in Kerala, India, Georgewent to the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, Class of1990, and has a master’s degree in International Business Managementfrom Georgetown University. He has worked for Satyam Computers, SSITAmericas (a joint technology venture with NASDAQ), and Baan, an Indianfirm. in India. He and his wife, a psychologist, live in Lawrencevillewith their preschool child.Based in East Moline, Illinois, Yash has partnerships with such firmsas IBM, Oracle, SAP, Interwoven, Mercury Interactive, and Actuit. “Wehave are expanding in the region,” says George, “and we are recruitingproject managers and also those in sales and marketing with experiencein IT outsourcing, business process outsourcing, E-business solutions,and technology integration.”Top Of PageManagement MovesHarrison Career Institute, 1001 Spruce Street, Ewing08628. Carol Heininger, director. 609-656-4303; fax, 609-656-4373.Home page: www.hci.eduCarol Heininger became the director of Harrison Career Institute lastfall. Recently the school relocated from Carnegie Drive to 10,000square feet on Spruce Street in Ewing. The 14-person staff preparesstudents for medical and business careers. It was formerly known asStar Technical Institute.SciTec Inc., 100 Wall Street, Princeton 08540. C.E.Newsom, CEO. 609-921-3892; fax, 609-921-1926. Home page:www.scitec.comEmployees from SciTec Inc. bought themselves out from Northrop GrummanSpace & Missions Systems Corporation on October 30, 2003. SciTec hadbeen a division of Northrop Grumman. A service contractor, SciTechdoes R&D, phenomenological modeling, and special instrumentation tosupport defense and intelligence systems, says CEO Clifton E. Newsom.Its clients include the defense department, National Laboratories,U.S. Intelligence Centers, and other defense and intelligence primecontractors. Its subcontracts and contracts had been issued under thename of SciTec Inc. Founded in 1979, the 40-person company occupies33,000 square feet at Research Park and has annual revenues of from $5to $10 million. @move lede:State Theater, 15 Livingston Avenue, NewBrunswick 08901-1903. 732-246-7469; fax, 732-247-4005. Home page:www.statetheatrenj.orgAfter three years as president and CEO of the State Theater, MarkHough is leaving to “pursue other professional opportunities,” says apress release. Christopher Butler, vice president of programming andoperations, will be in charge until a successor is named, says ThomasKelso, board chairman. The renovated 1921 vaudeville theater presentsinternational symphony orchestras, Broadway musicals, opera, kids’events, dance, and more.Best Associates, 108 Wall Street, Princeton 08540. JohnBest, president. 609-683-7999.John Best has closed his own company, Best Associates, and now worksfull-time for his major client, Multiforce, at 101 Wall Street(www.fuelforce.com), working on fuel programs for fleet management.Top Of PageDeathsKaren A. Sullivan, 61, on March 15. She was a surgical coordinator forLawrenceville Urology.Top Of PageStart-upsCrystal Ridge Partners, 17 Hulfish Street, Suite 200,Princeton 08542. Jack Baron, partner. 609-924-2088; fax, 609-924-5088.New on Hulfish Street is Crystal Ridge Partners, a private equityfirm, with Jack Baron and Don Hofmann as partners. An alumnus ofLehigh University with an MBA from Fordham, Baron has been a managingdirector in the structure finance division of Chemical Bank and was incharge of the middle market investment banking group at ManufacturersHanover Trust. Most recently he was responsible for new businessdevelopment at J.P. Morgan Partners, where he also worked onmanagement buyouts for the consumer and industrial manufacturingsectors.”Don Hofmann and I recently started the firm to invest private equityin established manufacturing, distribution and service companies withsales between $10 million and $75 million,” says Baron. “We will lookto invest between $2-8 million per transaction as control investors,or as a minority partner as late stage growth equity. Our primarygeographic focus is in the Mid-Atlantic, North East and North Centralregions.”Baron is an executive in residence for the MBA program at Lehigh andremains a senior advisor at JPMP. Hoffman, also a former partner atJPMP, is also still a senior advisor there.Next StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
