Bridge Information Systems Seeks Chapter 11 Protection.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 15, 2001 Company To Pursue Recapitalization Through Bankruptcy Proceeding; Welsh, Carson To Submit Bid For The Company BRIDGE Obtains Interim Financing, Will Continue to Operate in the Ordinary Course Bridge Information Systems Inc. (BRIDGE(R)) today announced that it has filed a voluntary petition to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Bankruptcy Code Bankruptcy Code may refer to:
BRIDGE said that protection under Chapter 11 will ensure that the company can continue to operate in the ordinary course of business while its management seeks outside investment in the company and finalizes a reorganization plan A scheme authorized by federal law and promulgated by the president whereby he or she alters the structure of federal agencies to promote government efficiency and economy through a transfer, consolidation, coordination, authorization, or abolition of functions. to reduce outstanding debt. Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, Bridge's largest shareholder, intends to submit a bid for the company as part of the reorganization proceeding. BRIDGE is also retaining an investment banker Investment Banker A person representing a financial institution that is in the business of raising capital for corporations and municipalities. Notes: An investment banker may not accept deposits or make commercial loans. to evaluate proposals from other third party bidders. A spokesman for Welsh Carson said, "BRIDGE has an excellent franchise. We support the decision by the Board and management to proceed with the sale process through Chapter 11, and we intend to submit a bid for the Company in its entirety." BRIDGE said that as part of the filing it has obtained debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from its senior lender group to provide working capital during the reorganization proceeding. A spokesman for the steering committee steer·ing committee n. A committee that sets agendas and schedules of business, as for a legislative body or other assemblage. steering committee Noun of BRIDGE's bank lenders said, "We concur with the Company's decision to utilize the Chapter 11 process to implement a reorganization, and we support the Company's efforts to achieve a debt restructuring Debt Restructuring A method used by companies with outstanding debt obligations to alter the terms of the debt agreements in order to achieve some advantage. Notes: ." Previously, the company had announced an agreement in principle with its creditors and Welsh Carson to implement a recapitalization and debt restructuring by filing a Prepackaged pre·pack·age tr.v. pre·pack·aged, pre·pack·ag·ing, pre·pack·ag·es To wrap or package (a product) before marketing. Adj. 1. Plan of Reorganization under Chapter 11. BRIDGE said that the parties to that agreement have elected not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding a prepackaged filing and that instead, Bridge will now proceed with a normal Chapter 11 reorganization. David Roscoe, BRIDGE president, said, "We have determined that entering Chapter 11 now will allow us to both maximize the value of the company and provide our clients with the assurance that we will continue to operate our business without interruption. BRIDGE has excellent assets -- primarily our people, our clients and the relevance of our products and services in the financial information marketplace. A restructured BRIDGE, with a dramatically reduced debt burden, will be an attractive investment opportunity and will emerge from Chapter 11 as a stronger, more viable competitor." "We will continue to seek the best outcome for our clients and employees," Roscoe said. "We intend to continue to pay employee salaries, wages and benefits without interruption and to pay suppliers and vendors for goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. received during the proceeding." "I have been truly heartened by the many strong expressions of confidence and support we have received from our clients, vendors and employees," Roscoe said. "During the last several months BRIDGE's new management has taken many steps to complete the integration of several acquired companies and to strengthen the company's operating procedures. We are now providing market-leading products and services, with exceptional reliability, rich content and outstanding tools. We are delivering all this at prices that are both attractive to the marketplace and profitable to BRIDGE. The restructuring will allow us to build on this foundation and realize the full potential of the BRIDGE vision." About BRIDGE BRIDGE, together with its principal operating units, Bridge Information Systems, Telerate(R), Inc., eBRIDGESM, Bridge Trading, and BridgeNews(SM), is the largest provider of financial information and related services in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and one of the fastest growing in the world. BRIDGE information products include a wide range of workstations, market data feeds and web-browser-based applications, combined with comprehensive market data, in-depth news, powerful analytic tools and trading room The notion of "trading room" (sometimes used as a synonym of "trading floor", see below) is widely used in financial markets to refer to the office space where market activities are concentrated in investment banks or brokerage houses. integration systems. BRIDGE, with over a quarter of a million users in over 65 countries, is headquartered in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. with the BRIDGE Trading and Technology center in St. Louis, and major regional centers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Pacific Rim. For more information visit the BRIDGE web site at http://www.Bridge.com. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion