RiverStreet files Chapter 11 to sell broadband network to Oaktree

RiverStreet Communications, a rural operator with about 30,000 customers in North Carolina and Virginia, filed for Chapter 11 to sell its broadband network to Oaktree Capital Management funds, with roughly $20 million in CoBank financing.

Inside Towers reported the operator was removed from several broadband deployment projects after years of delays. Its Modified Build Plan now focuses on existing customers and footprint. Terms of the Oaktree agreement were not disclosed.

For lenders and investors pricing rural broadband credits, CoBank's $20 million commitment and cash from operations now fund the network. The expansion projects RiverStreet intends to exit pass through the court-supervised sale.

President and chief executive Eric Cramer said the agreement and the company's actions "are intended to ensure that this mission continues for years to come." The company filed customary first-day motions to keep operating and appointed Stuart Kaufman, a senior managing director at Areté Partners, as chief restructuring officer.

Evan Kramer, senior vice president at Oaktree Capital Management, said "RiverStreet benefits from an established customer base, meaningful network assets, and deep relationships in communities where reliable connectivity is essential, and demand is durable."

Oaktree reported $183.3 billion in regulatory assets under management in a Form ADV filed with the SEC on Aug. 17. Its debut asset-backed finance fund closed at $2 billion earlier this month, as Private Wealth Daily previously reported.