Avaya has had a rough year, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2017, but almost a year later, it has gotten itself out of the hole.
The company has officially announced that it has successfully completed its debt restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 as of Dec. 15. Avaya is now taking steps to list itself on the New York Stock Exchange and expect to have around 110 million shares outstanding upon emergence.
Jim Chirico, president and CEO of Avaya, calls this “the beginning of an important new chapter” for the company.
“In less than a year since the commencement of our chapter 11 restructuring, Avaya has emerged as a publicly traded company with a significantly strengthened balance sheet,” he continues in a Dec. statement. “Overall, we reduced our prior debt load by approximately $3 billion [USD], and we exit today with more than $300 million in cash on our balance sheet. The reduction of our debt and certain other long-term obligations will also improve annual cash flow by approximately $300 million compared to fiscal 2016.”
Avaya now has the flexibility it needs to invest in the large and growing contact centre and unified communications markets as it transforms into a software, services, and cloud solutions provider, Chirico adds.
“With a new board and leadership team firmly in place, Avaya is now well-positioned to execute on its growth plan and deliver the returns and value expected by our stakeholders,” he concludes.
The Canadian subsidiary of Avaya was not part of the chapter 11 protection filing. You can find out more about the company’s debt restructuring plan here.
