Hawaiian Telcom Communications Inc. said yesterday that it will be allowed to use its $75 million in cash to continue operations as it moves forward with bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware.

    Hawaiian Telecom Gets Grant From Judge  

 

 

A bankruptcy judge granted Hawaiian Telcom interim authority to use 75 million dollars so that it can continue to pay its bills and its employees.

 

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  The company will continue to pay suppliers and honor wage and benefit programs for its 1,474 employees as well as customer programs. The hearing for final approval of the motion will be on Jan. 5.

“;Customers, employees and suppliers can rest assured that we are dedicated to them and have the capital to stand by our commitments,”; Eric Yeaman, Hawaiian Telcom's president and chief executive, said in a statement. “;We have reached our first milestone in this process and these approvals reinforce the value of Hawaiian Telcom to the people of Hawaii and its viability going forward.”;

The company and seven affiliates filed Chapter 11 petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., on Monday, listing $1.35 billion in assets and $1.27 billion in liabilities. Hawaiian Telcom is incorporated in that state.

Company officials said Tuesday they would consider selling some or all of the company as part of the reorganization plan. About two dozen local investors in a group led by Chairman Walter Dods have lost the more than $30 million they invested in the company when Washington, D.C.-based private-equity firm Carlyle Group acquired Verizon Communication Inc.'s Hawaii assets for $1.6 billion in 2005, changing the name to Hawaiian Telcom.