Avaya Inc., the veteran unified communications company, said this week that it’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in its history, while announcing a plan that will slash $2.6 billion of debt from its balance sheet.

The company’s filing in a Texas court revealed that it has agreed a deal with its creditors. It added that the restructuring plan had “overwhelming support” from more than 90% of its secured lenders.

Through the restructuring plan, it will “eliminate more than 75% of its debt,” the company said. As a result, its total liabilities will shrink from $3.4 billion now to about $800 million, allowing it to continue running its business.

Avaya said in its filing that “revenues from capex-based purchases (software license and support and hardware) have continued to decline over the past several years, consistent with industry trends and customers’ preference to shift towards cloud-based solutions.”

The situation grew worse for Avaya when its subscription business first began to slow during fiscal 2022. The company managed to raise $600 million in financing last July, but even with that funding, it was unable to turn things around.

Avaya’s bankruptcy has been an option on the table for some time. Last August, the company warned that it had “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operating as a going concern, saying it would miss its third-quarter fiscal 2022 revenue targets by some distance.

That came after the company hired Alan Masarek (pictured) as its new chief executive officer in July. He had previously pulled Vonage America LLC from the brink of bankruptcy before going on to sell it to Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB.

In a statement announcing the bankruptcy, Masarek said he joined Avaya to strengthen its capital structure and realize its business transformation. “We are excited to move ahead as a well-capitalized company with one of the strongest balance sheets in our industry that includes substantial cash to invest in our own success,” he said of the plan.

Avaya was founded back in 2000 after spinning off from Lucent Technologies Inc. and debuted on the stock market later that year. In 2007 it became a private company in an $8.2 billion deal led by Silver Lake Partners and TPG Capital. That appears to be when its problems started, as it remained a private entity for a full decade until declaring bankruptcy for the first time in January 2017. After emerging from that process, it went public again at the end of the year.

The company is a major player in the unified communications technology business, and it’s also involved in networking. It started out as a provider of communications, and later, networking hardware. But for the last six years has been pushing its cloud contact center and collaboration software.

Enterprises use its software to manage their contact centers and to enable business collaboration. It has established a strategic partnership with RingCentral LLC too, with that company helping to develop and sell its cloud-based offerings. RingCentral is also a major financial backer of Avaya, having invested $500 million in the company in 2019.

Avaya’s bankruptcy highlights the challenges faced by traditional hardware firms as they pivot to selling software-based products as-a-service. It’s a slow process that involves a radical redesign of the company’s core offerings and business model, and clearly it doesn’t always work out as planned.

Hyoun Park, an analyst with Amalgam Insights, told SDxCentral that Avaya also missed a big opportunity when the COVID-19 pandemic helped to accelerate digital transformation. At the time, the collaboration and contact center markets were growing rapidly, but Avaya’s debt obligations “prevented it from executing in these areas,” he said.

Avaya said it believes it will emerge from its latest bankruptcy proceedings in a much healthier state. It said it will exit bankruptcy in 60 to 90 days as a private concern armed with a fresh $780 million in funding that will be used to invest in growing its business.

Most likely, Avaya’s debt restructuring has been in the works for some time, and it could turn out to be a smart move that sets the company up for its next phase of growth, said Liz Miller of Constellation Research Inc.

“Now, arguably, they hit send on that cloud communications strategy a few years too late,” Miller added. “But, they are closing the gap with their Avaya Experience Platform and the Avaya Cloud Office offerings. What we will be keeping an eye on is how they continue to deliver on their announced technology innovations and roadmaps.”

Analysts were divided over the future prospects for Avaya. Charles King of Pund-IT Inc. told SiliconANGLE that in addition to the fresh funding, Avaya possesses some valuable intellectual property assets too, owning more than 4,000 existing and pending technology patents.

“One interpretation of its lenders’ willingness to support the restructuring plan is that they believe Avaya can be rebuilt into a functional, profitable business again,” King said. “Alternatively, it could be that the new funding will enable Avaya to keep operating and support its existing customers and suppliers while its owners look for ways to profitably sell off its assets. Or we could see a combination of both approaches, resulting in Avaya emerging as a leaner and more focused vendor. In any case, the company’s long and strange journey doesn’t appear to be over yet.”

Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group was less convinced about Avaya’s prospects, however. He told SiliconANGLE that Avaya is one of the last surviving remnants of yesteryear’s telecommunications industry and has struggled to reinvent itself for the modern age.

“It has historically been undermarketed, and given the need to change its image from an obsolescent telecom firm to one that is more forward-looking, it continues to struggle to be relevant, which doesn’t bode well for its long-term future,” he said. “Avaya looks like a company that is running out of time.”

Photo: Avaya/Facebook

February 15, 2023, 09:41 AM EST

‘The actions we are taking are designed to accelerate our transformation and make Avaya an even stronger partner to our customers and strategic and channel partners,’ Avaya said in a channel and strategic partner FAQ on its bankruptcy filing.

© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Feb 14 (Reuters) - Avaya Holdings Corp (AVYA.N) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and secured a financing of $780 million as it restructures its business, the IT firm said on Tuesday.

Avaya said upon completion of the restructuring process it will reduce its total debt by more than 75%, from nearly $3.4 billion to about $800 million.

The new capital is "expected to provide substantial liquidity to support Avaya during the process and beyond," it said.

The cloud communications company added it would continue to serve its customers and partners without interruption and expects to complete the process in 60 to 90 days.

Avaya had said there was substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern in light of a debt maturity in 2023, according to a Wall Street Journal report in December, which cited people familiar with the matter.

Earlier in September, Avaya has also announced restructuring, including job cuts, to reduce costs. Avaya's shares have fallen nearly 99% last year.

Evercore Group is serving as financial advisor to Avaya for the process.

Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Avaya Holdings Corp. on Tuesday filed for chapter 11 for the second time in six years as it struggles to transform itself from a traditional office telecommunications equipment business into a subscription-based software provider.

The company said it filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston with a plan supported by most senior lenders to cut its debt by more than 75%, to roughly $800 million from $3.4 billion, and turn the page on an earnings miss last year that depressed the prices of its debt and stock.

Avaya...

February 14, 2023, 02:47 PM EST

The UC giant, which is filing for bankruptcy for the second time in six years, listed in its filing unsecured claims valued in millions from the likes of Verint Americas, Microsoft and solution provider giant SHI International. Avaya’s CEO says the company is poised for a ‘transformation.’

Struggling unified communications giant Avaya Holdings Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday in federal court in Texas.

The filing follows months of speculation of a bankruptcy declaration following Avaya’s 2022 cloud subscription accounting problems that led to substantial earnings and revenue target misses.

Durham, N.C.-based Avaya said in a press release that “these actions will not impact the company’s customers, channel and strategic partners, suppliers, vendors or employees.”

[RELATED: Avaya Bankruptcy Filing: 5 Things To Know]

In its bankruptcy court filing, Avaya lists total assets of between $1 billion and $10 billion and total liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion. The company lists its number of creditors as being between 25,001 and 50,000.

The firm in the court filing lists the creditors with the largest unsecured claims include Verint Americas in the amount of $22.93 million; Microsoft for $9.01 million; Wistron Corp. for $8.9 million; and solution provider giant SHI International for $7.71 million.

Avaya previously filed for bankruptcy in 2017.

Avaya’s stretch of financial difficulties began in May when the company reported that it had missed its revenue target and posted a considerable earnings miss with revenue that declined 20 percent during the company’s third-quarter 2022, which ended June 30, 2022. The company then made the move to replace Jim Chirico, the company’s CEO since 2018. Alan Masarek was brought on in August as president and CEO after serving as Vonage’s CEO for six years.

“I joined Avaya to help unlock the power of its iconic brand, global customer footprint, massive partner ecosystem, large-scale communications deployments and outstanding team,” Masarek said in a statement published on Tuesday. “Strengthening Avaya’s capital structure is a critical step to fully realize our transformation, and we are excited to move ahead as a well-capitalized company with one of the strongest balance sheets in our industry that includes substantial cash to invest in our own success.”

In late December, Avaya said its stock could be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange because the average closing price of the its common stock was less than $1 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.

Completing the financial restructuring will reduce the company’s total debt by more than 75 percent, from approximately $3.4 billion today to approximately $800 million, Avaya said. Additionally, Avaya said it has secured committed financing of approximately $780 million.

The financial restructuring will provide the company improved financial flexibility to boost up its investment in communications products, solutions and services for customers, including the Avaya Experience Platform, its cloud-based Contact Center offering, Avaya said.

Avaya’s strategy includes a multistep process of shifting its portfolio and customers entirely to cloud—whether it’s private, multitenant or somewhere in between. It will also include a “cultural revitalization” that will allow Avaya to bring in the right talent for the work ahead, Masarek told CRN in an interview when he joined the company.

The company said it expects this financial restructuring to be completed within 60 to 90 days.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel to Avaya, Evercore Group L.L.C. is serving as financial advisor and AlixPartners LLP is serving as restructuring advisor.

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The (Raleigh) News & Observer 5 days ago Brian Gordon, The News & Observer (Raleigh)

After protracted negotiations with creditors, ailing digital communications solutions provider Avaya (AVYA) finally filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.

As the restructuring support agreement has been signed by more than 90% of the company's secured lenders, implementation should go swiftly with Avaya expected to emerge as a private company within the next 60 to 90 days.

Completing the Financial Restructuring will reduce the Company’s total debt by more than 75%, from approximately $3.4 billion today to approximately $800 million. Additionally, it will substantially increase Avaya’s cash and strengthen its liquidity position, resulting in an expected emergence balance sheet with less than 1x net leverage.

The company has received commitments for an aggregate $628 million in debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing, including a new $500 million term loan facility from secured creditors Apollo Global Management (APO) and Brigade Capital Management, among others.

In addition, a bank syndicate led by Citigroup (C) will provide a new $128 million asset-based lending ("ABL") facility.

Following completion of the restructuring, both loans will be rolled into exit facilities.

Moreover, a number of secured creditors have agreed to backstop a $150 million rights offering at exit.

In aggregate, Avaya has secured almost $780 million in new capital which together with cash on hand and cash generated from operating activities, is expected to provide substantial liquidity to support the company during the restructuring process and beyond.

Lastly, the company has restructured its strategic partnership with RingCentral (RNG) with RingCentral's $125 million in the company's 3% Series A Convertible Preferred Shares being cancelled:

Avaya will continue to act as the exclusive sales agent for direct and partner sales of Avaya Cloud Office, Avaya’s exclusive multi-tenanted cloud PBX solution, in the geographies where it is available. The partnership has also expanded to include additional go-to-market constructs that enable Avaya to sell Avaya Cloud Office to its installed base on a direct basis. In addition, Avaya will be compensated in cash as Avaya Cloud Office seats are sold and, in connection with the Financial Restructuring, RingCentral’s preferred stock in Avaya will be eliminated.

As predicted by me for some time already, common equity holders will be wiped out at the end of the restructuring process as clearly stated in the company's Public Equity Investors FAQ:

Existing equity holders should note that the NYSE is expected to commence delisting proceedings with the common shares likely to start trading on the Pink Sheets on Wednesday or later this week.

Please note that investors with short positions in the common shares won't be required to cover.

Not surprisingly, Avaya is handing over ownership of the ailing company to secured creditors in bankruptcy to reduce debt and get access to additional liquidity.

With Avaya expected to emerge as a private entity within the next 60 to 90 days, common shareholders should sell their holdings and move on as soon as the stock commences trading on the Pink Sheets later this week.

Editor's Note: This article covers one or more microcap stocks. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.