RingCentral
As businesses adjust to remote and hybrid work models, communication and collaboration tools become even more critical to success. In this setting, unified communications as a service, or UCaaS, enables employees to communicate from any location and any device. It encompasses various communication methods, including voice, video, text, messaging and social media, and is designed to be both cost- and labor-efficient.
RingCentral, which offers enterprise-grade cloud communications, video conferencing and contact center solutions, touts itself as the largest and fastest growing pure-play UCaaS vendor. This week, RingCentral announced two important partnerships—one with AWS, the other with Avaya. Let's dive into those announcements and explore what they mean for RingCentral.
Amazon Web Services answers the call
RingCentral has entered into a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to help companies expedite their cloud implementations and transform their customer and employee communications. Under this multi-year partnership, AWS will provide its customers with access to RingCentral MVP (Message Video Phone) and RingCentral Contact Center—unified communications platforms that integrate team messaging and video meetings with a top-performing cloud-based phone system. AWS will also provide customer access to RingCentral's Contact Center solution.
"This announcement with AWS marks the beginning of an important collaboration for RingCentral, whereby we will work together to deliver technologies and innovations that Improve business communications for today's hybrid workforce of both knowledge workers and front liners," said Mo Katibeh, president and chief operating officer at RingCentral. He went on to say that the partnership will match RingCentral's business communication service with "the unmatched security, compute power, data residency and privacy of AWS."
Avaya Cloud Office
Meanwhile, RingCentral and Avaya have extended their multi-year partnership, which now includes minimum seat commitments and a better-aligned incentive structure to accelerate migration to Avaya Cloud Office (ACO). The deal benefits RingCentral because Avaya will be compensated only as ACO seats are sold, with no commissions needing to be prepaid by RingCentral.
The terms of the expanded agreement aim to unlock further opportunities for RingCentral and Avaya to maximize customer value. The partnership has also expanded to include additional go-to-market models that enable Avaya to sell ACO directly to its installed base.
ACO allows companies to connect their office, remote and mobile workers to a single system so they can collaborate from anywhere on any device—without needing to switch back and forth between platforms to get things done. More than 200 third-party apps such as Jira, Marketo and PagerDuty are pre-integrated to help achieve this.
ACO is available in 15 billing countries and can be extended to more than 40 countries through the Global Office feature. The system provides an all-in-one calling, meeting and messaging solution with incoming call numbers (local or toll-free) for over 100 different countries. Operationally, this allows for cross-border communication with employees and customers regardless of device and on a single bill.
The two companies also said that they plan to make additional investments to further differentiate ACO and expand its integration with other Avaya products.
Wall Street's reaction and RingCentral’s optimism
These two important partnership deals on top of a quarterly earnings announcement made for a wild ride this week for RingCentral this week. After the AWS announcement on Wednesday, the stock got a bump—up roughly 7%. However, it then dropped around 20 % after the company provided guidance for 2023 that missed Wall Street’s growth expectations. Avaya's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing this week likely added to the mixed results for RingCentral, although the two companies seemed to have reached a solid resolution despite Avaya’s restructuring.
Vlad Shmunis, RingCentral's founder, chairman and CEO, explained why he is not worried: "As part of its recapitalization, Avaya is emerging stronger and better positioned to migrate the world's largest on-premises installed base to Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral, the best UCaaS destination for every Avaya Unified Communications customer."
Shumis was confident in this week's earnings call, stating, “We are in a select category of SaaS companies with over $2 billion of recurring revenue, and our Q4 results reflect our ability to deliver healthy growth and increasing profitability as we continue to scale,” he said. “We are executing well in the current environment given our product leadership, which provides customers with the market's leading UCaaS platform, as well as an integrated CCaaS solution.” (CCaaS means “contact center as a service.”)
Photo 116741782 © Sarayut Thaneerat | Dreamstime.com
Cloudy and mostly sunny outlook ahead
Providing cloud-based communication and collaboration tools to workforces will continue to be a priority for many companies. Employees increasingly demand flexibility and are willing to trade jobs to work for companies that offer it. At the same time, employers benefit from supporting remote work by accessing a wider talent pool. Ultimately, with the cloud's reliability and scalability, employees and customers can collaborate in new ways, empowering a more diverse workforce from nearly anywhere with minimal operational lift.
RingCentral benefits from this trend because it is the market leader in the highly fragmented UCaaS space, where it continues to grow. With the help of channel partnerships like the ones announced this week, RingCentral continues to expand beyond its initial successes in the small and medium business market to serve more and more larger companies.
Final message
RingCentral continues to lead in this space but will need to stay competitive and transparent with its pricing. This is particularly relevant because last year the company changed its SMS overage charges in response to changes in FCC guidelines. In addition, while its videoconferencing features are robust, many of the company's bells-and-whistles features are reserved for higher-paying customers—but that’s not always conveyed clearly. To take one example, RingCentral needs to clarify its webinar pricing at higher attendance levels.
The new partnership with AWS and the now more favorable relationship with Avaya support RingCentral’s strong positioning to execute and deliver healthy growth. However, there is no doubt that 2023 will see many customers that are wary about economic conditions shop around for better deals as they try to reduce costs and the number of vendors they must deal with. Additionally, per-seat pricing models may suffer a bit in larger enterprises that have pink-slipped a significant number of staff.
Even with these challenges—and the bumpy ride taken by its shares this week—RingCentral looks poised to make the most of its new partnerships in 2023 and beyond.
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Avaya Inc., the veteran unified communications company, said this week that it’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in its history, while announcing a plan that will slash $2.6 billion of debt from its balance sheet.
The company’s filing in a Texas court revealed that it has agreed a deal with its creditors. It added that the restructuring plan had “overwhelming support” from more than 90% of its secured lenders.
Through the restructuring plan, it will “eliminate more than 75% of its debt,” the company said. As a result, its total liabilities will shrink from $3.4 billion now to about $800 million, allowing it to continue running its business.
Avaya said in its filing that “revenues from capex-based purchases (software license and support and hardware) have continued to decline over the past several years, consistent with industry trends and customers’ preference to shift towards cloud-based solutions.”
The situation grew worse for Avaya when its subscription business first began to slow during fiscal 2022. The company managed to raise $600 million in financing last July, but even with that funding, it was unable to turn things around.
Avaya’s bankruptcy has been an option on the table for some time. Last August, the company warned that it had “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operating as a going concern, saying it would miss its third-quarter fiscal 2022 revenue targets by some distance.
That came after the company hired Alan Masarek (pictured) as its new chief executive officer in July. He had previously pulled Vonage America LLC from the brink of bankruptcy before going on to sell it to Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB.
In a statement announcing the bankruptcy, Masarek said he joined Avaya to strengthen its capital structure and realize its business transformation. “We are excited to move ahead as a well-capitalized company with one of the strongest balance sheets in our industry that includes substantial cash to invest in our own success,” he said of the plan.
Avaya was founded back in 2000 after spinning off from Lucent Technologies Inc. and debuted on the stock market later that year. In 2007 it became a private company in an $8.2 billion deal led by Silver Lake Partners and TPG Capital. That appears to be when its problems started, as it remained a private entity for a full decade until declaring bankruptcy for the first time in January 2017. After emerging from that process, it went public again at the end of the year.
The company is a major player in the unified communications technology business, and it’s also involved in networking. It started out as a provider of communications, and later, networking hardware. But for the last six years has been pushing its cloud contact center and collaboration software.
Enterprises use its software to manage their contact centers and to enable business collaboration. It has established a strategic partnership with RingCentral LLC too, with that company helping to develop and sell its cloud-based offerings. RingCentral is also a major financial backer of Avaya, having invested $500 million in the company in 2019.
Avaya’s bankruptcy highlights the challenges faced by traditional hardware firms as they pivot to selling software-based products as-a-service. It’s a slow process that involves a radical redesign of the company’s core offerings and business model, and clearly it doesn’t always work out as planned.
Hyoun Park, an analyst with Amalgam Insights, told SDxCentral that Avaya also missed a big opportunity when the COVID-19 pandemic helped to accelerate digital transformation. At the time, the collaboration and contact center markets were growing rapidly, but Avaya’s debt obligations “prevented it from executing in these areas,” he said.
Avaya said it believes it will emerge from its latest bankruptcy proceedings in a much healthier state. It said it will exit bankruptcy in 60 to 90 days as a private concern armed with a fresh $780 million in funding that will be used to invest in growing its business.
Most likely, Avaya’s debt restructuring has been in the works for some time, and it could turn out to be a smart move that sets the company up for its next phase of growth, said Liz Miller of Constellation Research Inc.
“Now, arguably, they hit send on that cloud communications strategy a few years too late,” Miller added. “But, they are closing the gap with their Avaya Experience Platform and the Avaya Cloud Office offerings. What we will be keeping an eye on is how they continue to deliver on their announced technology innovations and roadmaps.”
Analysts were divided over the future prospects for Avaya. Charles King of Pund-IT Inc. told SiliconANGLE that in addition to the fresh funding, Avaya possesses some valuable intellectual property assets too, owning more than 4,000 existing and pending technology patents.
“One interpretation of its lenders’ willingness to support the restructuring plan is that they believe Avaya can be rebuilt into a functional, profitable business again,” King said. “Alternatively, it could be that the new funding will enable Avaya to keep operating and support its existing customers and suppliers while its owners look for ways to profitably sell off its assets. Or we could see a combination of both approaches, resulting in Avaya emerging as a leaner and more focused vendor. In any case, the company’s long and strange journey doesn’t appear to be over yet.”
Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group was less convinced about Avaya’s prospects, however. He told SiliconANGLE that Avaya is one of the last surviving remnants of yesteryear’s telecommunications industry and has struggled to reinvent itself for the modern age.
“It has historically been undermarketed, and given the need to change its image from an obsolescent telecom firm to one that is more forward-looking, it continues to struggle to be relevant, which doesn’t bode well for its long-term future,” he said. “Avaya looks like a company that is running out of time.”
Photo: Avaya/Facebook
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Feb 14 (Reuters) - Avaya Holdings Corp (AVYA.N) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and secured a financing of $780 million as it restructures its business, the IT firm said on Tuesday.
Avaya said upon completion of the restructuring process it will reduce its total debt by more than 75%, from nearly $3.4 billion to about $800 million.
The new capital is "expected to provide substantial liquidity to support Avaya during the process and beyond," it said.
The cloud communications company added it would continue to serve its customers and partners without interruption and expects to complete the process in 60 to 90 days.
Avaya had said there was substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern in light of a debt maturity in 2023, according to a Wall Street Journal report in December, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Earlier in September, Avaya has also announced restructuring, including job cuts, to reduce costs. Avaya's shares have fallen nearly 99% last year.
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Evercore Group is serving as financial advisor to Avaya for the process.
Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
BELMONT, Calif., February 14, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG), a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications, video meetings, collaboration, and contact center solutions, today announced an extended and expanded strategic partnership agreement with Avaya Inc., a global provider of solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration. As part of Avaya’s transformation and expedited recapitalization, Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral ("ACO") remains Avaya’s exclusive multi-tenanted Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) solution to Avaya’s customers, including its on-premises installed base totaling tens of millions of users worldwide.
Under the terms of the expanded agreement, RingCentral and Avaya have agreed to extend their multi-year partnership with minimum seat commitments and a better aligned incentive structure intended to drive accelerated migration to ACO. These improvements will unlock further opportunities for RingCentral and Avaya to maximize value for their customers. The partnership has also expanded to include additional go-to-market models that enable Avaya to sell Avaya Cloud Office to its installed base on a direct basis.
"Under our past agreement with Avaya hundreds of thousands of seats have transitioned to ACO. With this new agreement, we expect for this motion to continue and accelerate as new product integrations and sales plays will be enabled," said Vlad Shmunis, founder, chairman and CEO of RingCentral. "As part of its recapitalization, Avaya is emerging stronger and better positioned to migrate the world’s largest on-premises installed base to Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral, the best UCaaS destination for every Avaya Unified Communications customer."
"Our goal is to serve our customers first and foremost," said Alan Masarek, CEO of Avaya. "Through our extended and expanded partnership with RingCentral, we look forward to empowering our customers in their cloud migration journeys — creating an all win situation for our customers, RingCentral, Avaya, and our channel partners."
To further differentiate ACO, both RingCentral and Avaya will make further product and development investments into ACO, including ACO’s integration with other Avaya products.
"RingCentral and Avaya have a strong playbook for migrating customers to the cloud through ACO," said Elka Popova, vice president of digital transformation at Frost & Sullivan. "Leveraging RingCentral’s integration with Avaya telephony endpoints, and RingCentral’s reputation as a trusted provider of leading cloud communications solutions — together with Avaya’s existing go-to-market strategy and channel community – this partnership offers a compelling path for customers to move to the cloud."
Advisors
Guggenheim Securities, LLC served as financial advisor to RingCentral. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is acting as legal advisor to RingCentral.
About RingCentral
RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG) is a leading provider of business cloud communications and contact center solutions based on its powerful Message Video Phone™ (MVP®) global platform. More flexible and cost-effective than legacy on-premises PBX and video conferencing systems, RingCentral® empowers modern mobile and distributed workforces to communicate, collaborate, and connect via any mode, device, and device location. RingCentral offers three essential products in its portfolio, including RingCentral MVP®, a Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform including team messaging, video meetings, and cloud phone system; RingCentral Video®, the company's video meetings solution with team messaging that enables Smart Video Meetings™; and RingCentral Contact Center™ solutions. RingCentral's open platform integrates with leading third-party business applications and allows customers to customize business workflows easily. RingCentral is headquartered in Belmont, California, and has offices worldwide.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements," including but not limited to, statements regarding RingCentral’s future financial and operating performance, RingCentral’s strategic partnership with Avaya, the marketing and sale of Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral, the anticipated benefits of and activity under RingCentral’s strategic partnership with Avaya, and the ability to create a long-term growth opportunities for RingCentral. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including risks related to the parties’ ability to perform their obligations under the strategic partnership and related commercial arrangements, the parties ability to successfully develop and execute the envisioned jointly developed programs, technology and automation, the ability to successfully transition customers to Avaya Cloud Office by RingCentral, as well as those risks and uncertainties included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in RingCentral’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and in other filings RingCentral makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.
All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to RingCentral as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, to review or confirm analysts’ expectations, or to provide interim reports or updates.
© 2023 RingCentral, Inc. All rights reserved. RingCentral, Message Video Phone, MVP, RingCentral MVP, RingCentral Video, RingCentral Contact Center, Smart Video Meetings, and the RingCentral logo are trademarks of RingCentral, Inc.
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Contacts
Investor Relations Contact:
Will Wong
650-450-4826
ir@ringcentral.com
PR Contact:
Mariana Leventis
(650) 562-6545
Mariana.leventis@ringcentral.com
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After protracted negotiations with creditors, ailing digital communications solutions provider Avaya (AVYA) finally filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.
As the restructuring support agreement has been signed by more than 90% of the company's secured lenders, implementation should go swiftly with Avaya expected to emerge as a private company within the next 60 to 90 days.
Completing the Financial Restructuring will reduce the Company’s total debt by more than 75%, from approximately $3.4 billion today to approximately $800 million. Additionally, it will substantially increase Avaya’s cash and strengthen its liquidity position, resulting in an expected emergence balance sheet with less than 1x net leverage.
The company has received commitments for an aggregate $628 million in debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing, including a new $500 million term loan facility from secured creditors Apollo Global Management (APO) and Brigade Capital Management, among others.
In addition, a bank syndicate led by Citigroup (C) will provide a new $128 million asset-based lending ("ABL") facility.
Following completion of the restructuring, both loans will be rolled into exit facilities.
Moreover, a number of secured creditors have agreed to backstop a $150 million rights offering at exit.
In aggregate, Avaya has secured almost $780 million in new capital which together with cash on hand and cash generated from operating activities, is expected to provide substantial liquidity to support the company during the restructuring process and beyond.
Lastly, the company has restructured its strategic partnership with RingCentral (RNG) with RingCentral's $125 million in the company's 3% Series A Convertible Preferred Shares being cancelled:
Avaya will continue to act as the exclusive sales agent for direct and partner sales of Avaya Cloud Office, Avaya’s exclusive multi-tenanted cloud PBX solution, in the geographies where it is available. The partnership has also expanded to include additional go-to-market constructs that enable Avaya to sell Avaya Cloud Office to its installed base on a direct basis. In addition, Avaya will be compensated in cash as Avaya Cloud Office seats are sold and, in connection with the Financial Restructuring, RingCentral’s preferred stock in Avaya will be eliminated.
As predicted by me for some time already, common equity holders will be wiped out at the end of the restructuring process as clearly stated in the company's Public Equity Investors FAQ:
Public Equity Investors FAQ
Existing equity holders should note that the NYSE is expected to commence delisting proceedings with the common shares likely to start trading on the Pink Sheets on Wednesday or later this week.
Please note that investors with short positions in the common shares won't be required to cover.
Not surprisingly, Avaya is handing over ownership of the ailing company to secured creditors in bankruptcy to reduce debt and get access to additional liquidity.
With Avaya expected to emerge as a private entity within the next 60 to 90 days, common shareholders should sell their holdings and move on as soon as the stock commences trading on the Pink Sheets later this week.
Editor's Note: This article covers one or more microcap stocks. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
RALEIGH-DURHAM, N.C., February 09, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Avaya (NYSE: AVYA), a global leader in solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration, today announced CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, named John Lindsley, VP of North America Channel Sales at Avaya, to its 2023 Channel Chiefs list. This annual list by CRN identifies top IT channel executives who continually demonstrate expertise, influence, and innovation in channel leadership.
John Lindsley leads the North America channel sales team and go-to-market channel strategy for Avaya. His channel team consists of dedicated resources supporting technology solution distributors, agents, Value Added Resellers (VARs), service providers, Direct Market Resellers (DMRs) and distributors focused on creating "Experiences that Matter" with Avaya’s customers. Under his direction, this team continues to drive growth and profitability for technology service distributors, distributors, and resellers. Lindsley and his team help to drive an outside-in approach through partner enablement, customer retention, new logo acquisition and modernization by continuously developing their partner relationship with a high-touch approach.
"Our partner ecosystem is an integral part of the journey for customers who create their own path to cloud technologies through Avaya solutions that deliver innovation without disruption," said Lindsley. "I look forward to reaching new milestones this year with our channel partners. Being named a 2023 Channel Chief by CRN is an accolade I’m honored to receive on behalf of Avaya and the partners we serve."
Avaya solutions enable partners to meet customers where they are on their cloud journey by simplifying their migration to the cloud, at their pace, and with the support they need—offering innovation without disruption. Whether selling Avaya’s public cloud, private cloud or trusted premise-based products, Avaya provides resellers the flexibility to position and sell the best solution for the customer. Our incentives are designed to help provide sustainable, predictable, and resilient cashflow in addition to customer scalability and stickiness based upon ongoing services customization.
"Once again, this year’s list gives well-deserved recognition to the IT Channel Chiefs who are dedicated to driving the channel agenda and advocating for the development of strong channel partnerships," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "Under their exceptional leadership, influence, and innovation, the IT channel vendor community continues to deliver solutions and services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of their solution provider partners and their customers."
Avaya’s global partner programs are purpose built for the specific partner communities we serve. More than 90 percent of the Fortune 100 companies and 144 million people worldwide rely on Avaya to power their mission-critical solutions every day. Our award-winning Partner Programs have everything you need to succeed whether the businesses being served with communications are built in the cloud, on premise, or as a hybrid.
The 2023 Channel Chiefs are influential leaders who continue to shape the IT channel through innovative strategies, programs, and partnerships in what has become an increasingly complex environment with shifting industry dynamics. Lindsley’s selection not only reinforces his leadership and achievements at Avaya and within the industry, but his commitment to deliver future growth for Avaya’s global partner community.
A panel of CRN editors selected the honorees for their record of business innovation and dedication to the partner community. CRN’s 2023 Channel Chiefs list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs.
Find out more about Avaya’s Global Partner Programs and learn how Avaya can bring world class communication and collaboration solutions to your customers.
About Avaya
Businesses are built by the experiences they provide, and every day millions of those experiences are delivered by Avaya Holdings Corp. (NYSE: AVYA). Avaya is shaping the future of customer experiences, with innovation and partnerships that deliver game-changing business benefits. Our communications solutions power immersive, personalized, and memorable customer experiences to help organizations achieve their strategic ambitions and desired outcomes. Together, we are committed to helping grow your business by delivering Experiences That Matter. Learn more at http://www.avaya.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains certain "forward-looking statements." All statements other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking" statements for purposes of the U.S. federal and state securities laws. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "our vision," "plan," "potential," "preliminary," "predict," "should," "will," or "would" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond its control. The factors are discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") available at www.sec.gov, and may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The Company cautions you that the list of important factors included in the Company’s SEC filings may not contain all of the material factors that are important to you. In addition, in light of these risks and uncertainties, the matters referred to in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release may not in fact occur. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.
All trademarks identified by ®, TM, or SM are registered marks, trademarks, and service marks, respectively, of Avaya Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Source: Avaya Newsroom
About The Channel Company
The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers, and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com
Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
© 2023 The Channel Company, LLC. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Contacts
Julianne Embry
Avaya
jcembry@avaya.com
DURHAM – Avaya announced on Tuesday that it would restructure its financial situation, under which the company anticipates eliminating more than 75% of its debt and increasing liquidity in the business.
The plan required the company, and all of its U.S. subsidiaries, to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
With headquarters in Durham, and a large presence in the region, Avaya had warned in August that there was “substantial doubt” about its ability to survive.
Earlier this year, the company received notice that its stock was trading below the minimum price listing criteria of the New York Stock Exchange, and analysts again became concerned about the firm’s viability.
Now, a statement from the company says that the financial restructuring process will reduce its debt by more than 75%. The current debt load is $3.4 billion, but after the restructuring process, the firm will carry only about $800 million in debt.
Executing this maneuver, which the company said was agreed to by “more than 90%” of its secured lenders, is expected to also strengthen the firm’s liquidity.
The bankruptcy process could occur in as little as 60 days.
Tech firm Avaya warns ‘substantial doubt’ about ability to survive; layoffs loom
CEO calls maneuver a ‘transformation’
“Strengthening Avaya’s capital structure is a critical step to fully realize our transformation, and we are excited to move ahead as a well-capitalized company with one of the strongest balance sheets in our industry that includes substantial cash to invest in our own success,” said Alan Masarek, the company’s CEO, in a statement.
Masarek joined the company in July 2022 after the firm’s longtime CEO Jim Chirico was “removed.” Avaya also cut jobs multiple times in 2022, including in September 2022.
Along with the bankruptcy filing, Avaya completed other customary motions at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, it said in the statement.
Such motions will enable the company’s operations to continue during the process, including the payment of its workers and vendors.
To facilitate, Avaya will receive $628 million debtor-in-possession financing, it said.
And Masarek is confident about the company’s future, despite the bankruptcy filing.
“We have made significant progress pioneering an ambitious business model transformation, establishing a competitive product strategy for our subscription and cloud-delivered services and implementing operational efficiencies to better serve the Avaya ecosystem,” he said in a statement.
Avaya news: Will this Triangle tech firm go the way of Nortel?
(Reuters) - Avaya Holdings Corp has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and secured a financing of $780 million as it restructures its business, the IT firm said on Tuesday.
Avaya said upon completion of the restructuring process it will reduce its total debt by more than 75%, from nearly $3.4 billion to about $800 million.
The new capital is "expected to provide substantial liquidity to support Avaya during the process and beyond," it said.
The cloud communications company added it would continue to serve its customers and partners without interruption and expects to complete the process in 60 to 90 days.
Avaya had said there was substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern in light of a debt maturity in 2023, according to a Wall Street Journal report in December, which cited people familiar with the matter.
Earlier in September, Avaya has also announced restructuring, including job cuts, to reduce costs. Avaya's shares have fallen nearly 99% last year.
Evercore Group is serving as financial advisor to Avaya for the process.
(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
