Posted on 04/08/2003 6:02:42 PM PDT by pttttt
US Senate Panel Plans Look at Global Crossing Sale
Mon Apr 7, 2:00 PM ET
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee plans to look into Global Crossing Ltd.'s planned sale of a majority stake to two Asian firms, the chairman of the panel's communications subcommittee said on Monday.
The bankrupt fiber-optic network operator wants to sell a 61.5 percent stake to Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. of Hong Kong and Singapore Technologies Telemedia Pte., but national security officials have raised concerns about Hutchison's close ties to China.
"We know the issue is out there and ... we're going to have to have hearings," Sen. Conrad Burns, a Montana Republican, told reporters after speaking to the annual National Association of Broadcasters convention.
"Scheduling those hearings and getting something done is two different horses," he said. "I haven't really come down yet on this issue. I've got a little more work to do, a little more research."
Global Crossing filed for bankruptcy protection in Jan. 2002 after buckling under $12.4 billion in debt and facing a soft economy, stiff competition in the telecommunications industry and a glut of network capacity.
To alleviate the national security concerns raised by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which must sign off on the deal before it can go forward, a prominent Pentagon adviser urged the company to establish a board of distinguished people to serve as a proxy to guide it.
"The work we have done provides for additional measures that go substantially beyond a standard proxy board and provides the utmost protection for national security," former Global Crossing adviser Richard Perle said last month.
Perle stopped advising the company after questions were raised about his paid work at Global Crossing while he served at the same time as the chairman of a panel that advises Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who sits on the committee that ultimately will decide the company's fate.
A Global Crossing spokeswoman had no immediate comment on Burns' statement. The company must also win regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission.
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Distinguished people such as, say, himself? Sitting on these kinds of boards is something he seems to have a lucrative handle on.
Hollinger Director Richard Perle Joins Onset's Board of Directors
US-Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees
Wonder where Senator Burns is coming from, and what he'll find out.
Heck with Enron. Look at this.
On Jan. 28, telecommunications giant Global Crossing became the fourth largest company in history to file for bankruptcy.
Through creative accounting, Global Crossing had duped investors into believing the company was earning significantly more than its costs.
The Bermuda-based company still owes creditors more than $12 billion.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Terrence McAuliffe's $100,000 investment in 1997, when Global Crossing founder and Chairman Gary Winnick was launching his telecom upstart.
McAuliffe, a onetime consultant to Winnick and close friend of then-President Bill Clinton, reaped perhaps as much as $18 million when he cashed out most of his holdings in '98 and '99.
McAuliffe set up golfing dates with the Prez for his pal Winnick, who pledged $1 million to Clinton's Presidential library.
Chinese interests are poised to take over a significant piece of America’s global telecommunications by year’s end. The Chinese-based shipping company, Hutchinson Whampoa, and its allied Singapore Technologies Telemedia are the only two companies that have signed a letter of intent to buy out the communications giant, Global Crossing.
Exactly. One big stinker left over from the Clintons. I don't know how they got Mr. Perle, who has a lot of influence in the Bush Administration and has done a lot of things right in his career, to take this on. It doesn't seem like the fee ($125K for openers, $600K if the deal went through; supposedly he resigned the account but this thing still seems to be alive...) would be high enough to afford him.
But it is interesting to see that he's still a registered Democrat: Warning -Democrat Underground Link (But Funny - A Democrat's Reaction To Perle's Party Affiliation)
McCain, Burns, Feinstein Receive Large Contributions From Global Crossing PAC.
Maybe the check bounced? The guy who is leading the charge on investigating GX took a $30000 contribution from them. And he's not in great company with McCain and Feinstein.
I don't have a good feeling about this. It looks too much like the fix is in.
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