NTL share price fropped to 11.5 cents from its peak of $136

["Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

                    WEDNESDAY, 15 MAY 2002

NTL files for US$17 billion bankruptcy  09 May 2002

 NEW YORK/LONDON: NTL, Britain's leading cable TV group, has filed for
one of the largest US bankruptcies, in a humbling  but necessary step in
its half-year road to financial recovery.

 NTL and several holding companies filed for protection from creditors
in a Manhattan bankruptcy court, court filings show, as part of the
company's plan to swap US$10.6 billion of bond debt for a controlling
equity stake. NTL said its operations will continue as usual.

NTL, whose businesses are in Europe but which is based in New York,
piled up debt in an acquisition spree at the height of the 1990s
technology boom. The resulting interest payments have threatened what
analysts consider to be a viable business. NTL has 2.8 million
subscribers.

 "This is effectively the formalities of the recapitalization process
starting, and the restructuring beginning in earnest," said Chavan
Bhogaita, a telecommunications bond analyst at Bear Stearns in London.

Only seven public companies have had larger U.S. bankruptcies, as
measured by pre-petition assets, according to BankruptcyData.com.   The
largest was Enron, which had $63.4 billion, BankruptcyData.com  said.

NTL listed $16.8 billion of total assets and $23.4 billion of total
debts in filing for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S.
Bankruptcy Code. The company's debt includes bonds being swapped, nearly
$6  billion of bank loans and $5.8 billion in preference shares.

 NTL shares closed Wednesday on the over-the-counter bulletin board at
11.5 cents, down 0.5 cents, valuing the one-time  multi-billion dollar
group at just $33 million.

 The shares reached a peak of $136 in January 2000. Several shareholders
have filed class action lawsuits against the company,  alleging that
management misled them.

 Traders said NTL's 12.375 percent euro bonds due 2008 were bid after
the filing unchanged at 36 cents on the dollar. The traders said the
bonds should remain near that level until the debt-for-equity swap is
completed.
 NTL already has clearance from the majority of its bondholders, lending
banks and shareholders to push ahead with what is  effectively a record
$10.6 billion corporate bond default, which tops even that of bankrupt
U.S. energy trader Enron.

 NTL expects to complete its debt restructuring, which is backed by its
largest shareholder, France Telecom , by around September.

 NTL's filing is about the same size as that of retailer Kmart Corp. ,
which had $17 billion of assets when it sought court protection in
January, BankruptcyData.com said.

The NTL entities that sought protection from creditors also include  NTL
(Delaware) Inc., NTL Communications Corp., Communications Cable Funding
Corp., Diamond Cable Communications Ltd. and
Diamond Holdings Ltd., NTL Inc.'s filing shows. The company also  said
the two Diamond units will also file for administration in Great
Britain.

 Under the recapitalization, NTL will still be responsible for $4.5
billion of bank loans, $800 million of bonds for its Diamond and
Triangle units, and $500 million of new capital injected by bondholders.
NTL shares would be relisted on the New York Stock Exchange or the
London Stock Exchange.

 The company will be split into its core British and Irish operations
and Euroco, including non-core continental European assets such as
Cablecom, which it failed to sell last year. Bondholders will own the
core British and Irish businesses and 86.5 percent of Euroco.

 NTL's main creditors include the ITN News Channel and The Studio,  TV
channels respectively set up with London-based news group ITN   and
media giant Vivendi Universal , and Macquarie Communications
  – the division of the bank which bought NTL's Australian
broadcasting assets.

 Shares of the other large British cable TV provider, Telewest
Communications Plc , have swooned on fear it may also need to  rework
its debt, which in March topped six billion pounds ($8.7 billion),
Moody's Investors Service said.

Europe's largest cable TV provider, the struggling Netherlands-based
United Pan-Europe Communications NV, is also pursuing a
multi-billion-dollar debt swap.

John Malone and his U.S. cable group Liberty Media Corp. are expected to
be lurking, waiting to take over distressed companies  and build a
European cable empire.