2-Track Mind: Adelphia Has Options as Court OKs Plan

A U.S. bankruptcy court’s approval of Adelphia’s $8.8bln blueprint to emerge from Chapter 11 doesn’t answer all the questions surrounding the MSO’s future. The ruling opens the door for Adelphia to sell off assets, either in a single outright deal or a piecemeal land grab by people like Cox, Comcast and Time Warner Cable. Adelphia avers that things could still go either way, saying it "remains on a dual track process of vigorously pursuing a sale of the company and, on a parallel path, preparing for emergence from Chapter 11 as an independent entity." In other words, whichever path ends in the greatest possible valuation for the company will be the one Adelphia ultimately decides to meander down. No word on the Equity Committee’s reaction following the court’s approval; that group of investors and shareholders has argued it’d take in a significantly higher windfall should Adelphia forego a reorg and auction itself off immediately after exiting bankruptcy. — Details, Details: The court gave the MSO’s exit financing package the thumbs up following 2 days of court hearings last week and conditional approval June 22. Final clearance came after Adelphia and lenders/creditors agreed on modifications. Adelphia will receive the $8.8bln in loans from J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup, Credit Suisse First Boston and Deutsche Bank (Cfax 2/26). Earlier, Adelphia CEO Bill Schleyer told us the money would be earmarked for continued rollout of advanced digital services (HD, VOD and DVR).