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Avaya VP Responds to Bankruptcy Rumors: Debt is Manageable, There Is No Panic

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Amid rumors of a potential Avaya chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, a key company executive says Avaya's debt is manageable and there is no panic within the company.

Updated Jan 19, 2017: Avaya Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection 

"A lot of the debt was already restructured," VP Jean Turgeon told ETtech of India. "So there is nothing earth shattering. There is some portion which is in the $500 million range that comes into maturity in Oct 2017. We are generating positive cash flow every quarter. The debt is manageable. There is no panic."

ChannelE2E has not independently confirmed the statement, which comes amid concerns about Avaya's debt load and pension plan payments. Rumors about a potential Avaya bankruptcy have swirled since around November 2016.

Silver Lake and TPG paid $8 billion for Avaya in October 2007 — shortly before the Wall Street financial crisis and housing market bubble emerged.

Further complicating matters, cloud services, mobile and software undercut Avaya’s core VoIP phone business. Also, rivals like Cisco Systems and Microsoft doubled down on their various unified communications and cloud communications efforts.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.