Telecommunications company FairPoint has emerged from bankruptcy reorganization nearly 15 months after filing for Chapter 11 with a crushing debt load and a battered financial sheet.
FairPoint says its reorganization plan became effective Monday, 11 days after being approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The company says as a result of the restructuring it has reduced its debt from $2.8 billion to about $1 billion, allowing it to focus more attention on customers, vendors and employees.
FairPoint owns telephone companies in 18 states, with its largest holdings in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
It filed for bankruptcy in October 2009, barely 18 months after buying Verizon’s northern New England landline telephone and Internet operations for $2.3 billion.