CenturyTel Wants Digital Teleport

ST. LOUIS -- Digital Teleport Inc. has asked a federal Bankruptcy Court for approval to conduct an auction for the sale of its regional fiber optic business to the highest bidder and disclosed it has received a definitive $38 million bid from local exchange telephone company CenturyTel Inc. (NYSE:CTL). Digital Teleport late Friday afternoon also asked the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis for approval of bidding procedures and to set a Feb. 10 auction date with a potential sale to be approved by the court on Feb. 18. Bids from any other qualified buyers are due Feb. 7. Digital Teleport provides wholesale fiber optic transport and Ethernet services in secondary and tertiary markets in the Midwest to national and regional telecommunications carriers. "Through a competitive bidding process, Digital Teleport is attempting to achieve the highest return for our investors and the greatest recovery for our creditors," said Paul Pierron, president and CEO of Digital Teleport. "Over the past year, our management team has worked diligently to increase the value of our business, and has succeeded in spite of the current telecom environment and the challenges of bankruptcy. We’ve grown our year-over-year bandwidth revenue by more than 43 percent and we are generating positive operating income and cash flow."CenturyTel, the eighth largest local exchange telephone company in the United States based on phone lines, bid $38 million in cash for Digital Teleport's fiber optic network and business. The agreement negotiated with CenturyTel provides for upward adjustments to the purchase price, including certain capital expenditures prior to the closing of the sale.Digital Teleport Inc.CenturyTel Inc.