December 13, 2007
Settlement reached on FairPoint-Verizon deal
Maine's Office of the Public Advocate and the advocacy staff at the Public Utilities Commission have reached an agreement with Verizon and FairPoint Communications and now support the $2.7 billion sale of Verizon's landline business to FairPoint.
The settlement addresses many of the concerns the OPA and PUC staff outlined when they both opposed the sale in their initial reports, including the requirement that FairPoint's debt be decreased by $600 million. FairPoint also has agreed to reduce its dividend levels by 35%, and agreed to make minimum capital investments in Maine of $47 million over the next three years, according to PUC filings.
The labor unions, however, did not agree to the settlement and still oppose the sale. "The terms of the proposed stipulation would not enable FairPoint to meet reasonable standards of financial fitness," the labor unions say in its PUC filing. "As such, approval of the proposed transaction, even under the terms of the proposed stipulation, would not serve the public good."
The PUC was scheduled this morning to deliberate the proposed sale of Verizon's 1.5 million landlines in northern New England to North Carolina-based FairPoint. Nicole Clegg, a PUC spokesperson, could not say what effect the settlement, which the commissioners are seeing for the first time this morning, could have on the case.
The settlement addresses many of the concerns the OPA and PUC staff outlined when they both opposed the sale in their initial reports, including the requirement that FairPoint's debt be decreased by $600 million. FairPoint also has agreed to reduce its dividend levels by 35%, and agreed to make minimum capital investments in Maine of $47 million over the next three years, according to PUC filings.
The labor unions, however, did not agree to the settlement and still oppose the sale. "The terms of the proposed stipulation would not enable FairPoint to meet reasonable standards of financial fitness," the labor unions say in its PUC filing. "As such, approval of the proposed transaction, even under the terms of the proposed stipulation, would not serve the public good."
The PUC was scheduled this morning to deliberate the proposed sale of Verizon's 1.5 million landlines in northern New England to North Carolina-based FairPoint. Nicole Clegg, a PUC spokesperson, could not say what effect the settlement, which the commissioners are seeing for the first time this morning, could have on the case.
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