Global Crossing held its ground in the 213/4 221/2 range after a bankruptcy court judge approved the company's bid to extend its period of exclusivity and approve an amendment to the company's purchase agreement with Singapore Technologies Telemedia. Global Crossing and ST Telemedia now have a binding agreement until Oct. 14, which neither party can break without the threat of penalty. J.P. Morgan, the administrative agent to the lenders, objected to these motions along with XO Communications and IDT Corp. The two companies are looking for an opportunity to bid for the company. A Global Crossing spokeswoman declined to comment.
XO and its Chairman Carl Icahn have accumulated approximately $790 million of Global Crossing bank debt, more than one-third of the company's $2.2 billion outstanding. While the portion is considered enough to give XO and Icahn a blocking position, Global Crossing has already received confirmation of its plan of reorganization from the bankruptcy court and is only waiting on regulatory approval for the ST Telemedia transaction to consummate the deal. Still "nothing is done until it's done," said one buysider. XO issued a statement noting that it was "disappointed" by the ruling and said it would "continue to monitor both the bankruptcy and regulatory proceedings." Calls to Icahn were not returned by press time.