ALJ/DJE/hkr Mailed 7/01/2002
Decision 02-06-065 June 27, 2002
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In the Matter of Application for Approval of the Indirect Transfer of Evans Telephone Company (U-1008-C) to ABRY Partners, LLC. |
Application 02-03-015 (Filed March 13, 2002) |
OPINION
1. Summary
Evans Telephone Company (Evans or Evans Telephone) and ABRY Partners, LLC (ABRY) seek approval for the acquisition by ABRY of indirect control of Evans under Section 854 of the Public Utilities Code.1 Evans also seeks Commission approval to effect reorganization at the holding company level to move from organization as corporation to a limited liability company. Specifically, Evans seeks Commission authorization for its parent, Country Road Communications, Inc. (Country Road),2 to become a limited liability company. The application is unopposed. The application is approved subject to conditions that insulate Evans Telephone ratepayers from the debt repayment obligations of ABRY, Country Road and Evans Holding Inc. and require Evans Telephone to maintain service that is safe, reliable, and in compliance with applicable statutes and Commission orders. In addition, Applicants must continue to comply with D.01-06-084, that is, to continue to invest approximately $11 million in total in network infrastructure for Evans Telephone through June 2006 and continue to increase the offering of broadband and other services to Evans Telephone customers without increasing local rates.
1 All further statutory references are to the Public Utilities Code unless otherwise noted. 2 In Decision (D.) 01-06-084 (June 28, 2001, the Commission authorized Country Road to acquire control of Evans. Under the corporate structure approved by the Commission, Evans is a wholly owned subsidiary of Evans Telephone Holdings, Inc., which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Country Road. Country Road's application was not protested. No hearing was held.
