20 June 2003 Washington, DC Lightwave -- Cogent Communications Group, Inc., a Tier One optical Internet service provider, has reached agreement to restructure its debt and raise $41 million in cash equity from investors that will be used to fund the operations and the restructuring. Over the last six months, Cogent has reduced its total debt from a face amount of over $380 million to $27 million and extended repayment terms, with the company's first principal payment due in 2006. The transactions are subject to execution of final documents and certain closing conditions.
Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), Oak Investment Partners, Worldview Technology Partners, Broadview Capital Partners, Boulder Ventures, and Nassau Capital will provide the equity financing. Following the transaction the investors, Cisco Capital, and employees will own 99% of the company.
"This is an exceptional round for Cogent and its investors, as the company has significantly outperformed the sector while greatly limiting its debt exposure," said Erel Margalit, managing partner, JVP. "We look forward to Cogent's continued growth as it positions itself to take full advantage of the telecom recovery."
"Cogent continues to perform well by providing value and service at a price per megabit that remains unmatched in the marketplace today," said Dave Schaeffer, CEO Cogent Communications. "Cogent remains confident and focused in our ability to continue to provide value to customers looking for high-quality, high-capacity Internet service at an affordable price."
Cogent Communications is a facilities-based, all-optical ISP focused on delivering ultra-high-speed Internet access and transport services to businesses in the multi-tenant marketplace and to service providers located in major metropolitan areas across the United States and Canada. Cogent's product set includes 100-Mbit/sec or 1-Gbit/sec dedicated, non-oversubscribed bandwidth at $1,000 and $10,000 per month respectively. These connections are delivered over Cogent's 80-Gbit/sec backbone.