Recently, a former financial advisor for Charter Communications Inc. testified that the cable mega-corporation attempted to sell itself off several times in the 18 months prior to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to Reuters.  The financial advisor, Jim Millstein, former co-head of restructuring at Lazard and now senior restructuring officer at the U.S. Treasury, stated that Charter made several attempts to sell the company to interested parties starting as early as summer 2007.

According to Millstein, negotiations may have broken down because of Charter’s credit freeze, since the company was heavily leveraged.  Its large amount of debt no doubt cooled the interest of parties who might have otherwise seriously considered purchasing the telecommunications giant.

Charter’s lenders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., are strongly opposed to the company’s reorganization plan and claim that Charter has violated its loan agreements.  The company’s bankruptcy plan would wipe out $8 billion from its $21 billion debt.  Charter, a cable television and high-speed Internet provider based in St. Louis, Missouri, filed for bankruptcy back in March.  According to sources, the company hopes to have its restructuring plan confirmed in August so it can emerge from bankruptcy in late August or early September.

Gregory Doody was appointed as Charter’s chief restructuring officer in the hopes that he can minimize the impact on day-to-day operations.  Doody has several successful restructurings under his belt, including restructurings for Calpine Corp., a San Jose, Calif.-based energy company, and HealthSouth Corp., one of the nation’s largest providers of outpatient surgery, diagnostic imaging and rehabilitative services.  HealthSouth president and CEO Jay Grinney gave Doody the credit for playing a large role in helping the company redirect its focus after a multibillion-dollar corporate accounting fraud perpetrated under prior management.

Charter expects its cash on hand and cash from operating activities to be adequate for funding projected cash needs during the financial restructuring and does not intend to request debtor-in-possession financing.  “The financial restructuring is good news for Charter and our customers and, if approved, will result in Charter being better positioned to deliver the products and services our customers demand now and in the future,” said Neil Smit, president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “The support of our bondholders and their new investment in charter also underscores their confidence in our company and business.”