IDT Corp. Praises the FCC for Rejecting Global Crossing’s Request for an Expedited Review of
Sale of Global Crossing to Singapore Conglomerate
CEO Says That FCC’s Ruling Now Gives the Public the Opportunity Afforded By Law to Review and Comment on the New Transaction
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NEWARK, N.J. -- May 16, 2003 -- IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.C), a multinational carrier, telephone and technology company, praised the Federal Communications Commission for its rejection of Global Crossing’s request for an expedited review of the restructured sale of Global Crossing to Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT), a Singapore conglomerate. Earlier this week IDT filed a letter opposing a request by Global Crossing that the Federal Communications Commission expedite its review of the acquisition of control of Global Crossing by STT.
IDT’s letter to the FCC was in response to Global Crossing’s May 13, 2003 petition to the FCC, which amended its long-pending request for sale approval by the Commission. This action followed the withdrawal of Hutchison Whampoa, a company which is aligned with the Chinese government, from a joint deal with STT to acquire Global Crossing, “We are pleased that the public will get the opportunity afforded by law to review and comment on the new transaction,” said Jim Courter, IDT’s CEO. “The new transaction is a fundamental change from the one Global Crossing had asked the Commission to approve. Singapore Technologies Telemedia now moves from a minority interest to a controlling interest, from a one-third interest to a two-thirds interest. We praise the FCC for recognizing that this mandates full consideration and serious review.”
The revised transaction proposes that STT will acquire exclusive control of Global Crossing and its undersea cable landing licenses and other critical infrastructure assets. STT is owned and controlled by the government of Singapore. If approved by the FCC, this transaction would put U.S. telecommunications assets, which are used by many government agencies like the Department of Defense, in the hands of a foreign government.
During the review process Jim Courter, IDT’s CEO, calls upon the FCC and the Congress to give heightened scrutiny to the restructured transaction, in light of the serious public policy, national security, and competitive implications of granting control of Global Crossing to a company owned by a foreign government.
IDT Corporation, through its IDT Telecom, Inc. subsidiary, is a facilities-based, multinational carrier that provides a broad range of telecommunications services to its retail and wholesale customers worldwide. IDT Telecom, by means of its own national telecommunications backbone and fiber optic network infrastructure, provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced international and domestic long distance telephony and prepaid calling cards. IDT and Liberty Media Corporation own 95% and 5% of IDT Telecom, respectively. IDT Media, Inc. is the IDT subsidiary principally responsible for the Company's initiatives in media, new video technologies and print media. Winstar Holdings, LLC is the IDT subsidiary through which we provide broadband and telephony services to commercial and governmental customers through a fixed-wireless and fiber infrastructure. In December 2002, we announced that the services offered by Winstar would begin to be offered under the name "IDT Solutions." Net2Phone, Inc., which we reconsolidated effective August 1, 2002, is a leading provider of high-quality global retail Voice over IP services, either directly or via a partner.
IDT Corporation common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols IDT and IDT.C.
In this press release, all statements that are not purely about historical facts, including, but not limited to, those in which we use the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate, “target” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent our current judgment of what may happen in the future, actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by SEC Form 10-K (under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”), which may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on SEC Forms 10-Q and 8-K. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following not limited to, those described in our most recent report on: potential declines in prices for our products and services; our ability to maintain and grow our retail telecommunications services, particularly our prepaid calling card business; availability of termination capacity; financial stability of our customers; our ability to maintain carrier agreements with foreign carriers; effectiveness of our marketing and distribution efforts; increased competition, particularly from regional bell operating companies; our ability to manage our growth; competitiveness of our Winstar subsidiary; impact of government regulation; our ability to obtain telecommunications products or services required for our products and services; and general economic conditions, particularly in the telecommunications markets. We are under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update the forward-looking statements in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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May 16, 2003 |
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