Canada’s Mitel Networks has filed for bankruptcy in the US as the telecommunications firm continued to struggle after carrying out debt maneuvers about two years ago.
The firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District Court of Texas, court documents show. It listed assets and liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion each in its petition.
The company provides communication services including business phones and call centers and competes with the likes of Cisco Systems Inc. and Avaya Inc. It had 75 million users in 2023.
Mitel was acquired by private equity Searchlight Capital Partners in an all-cash offer at $2 billion in 2018, a move that the company said would facilitate its strategy to further develop cloud services.
Back in November 2022, the company carried out a so-called “up-tiering” transaction that pushed some lenders back in the repayment line. While the deal injected fresh liquidity into the company, analysts noted that Mitel still faced uncertain business fundamentals. Bloomberg