CHARTER FILES CHAPTER 11

ST. LOUIS — Charter Communications Inc. says it filed a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The nation’s fourth-largest cable operator, controlled by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, had planned to file a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy by April 1. Charter serves some parts of the Fox Valley, mostly in the Oshkosh and Fond du Lac areas but also in some parts of Waupaca County. Statewide, Charter has more than 500,000 customers.

The company has struggling with potential insolvency for years. Charter had about $21.7 billion in debt at the end of 2008. Holders of $8 billion of the debt agreed to exchange it for almost full ownership in the new company, and some old debt was exchanged for new debt. After the bankruptcy, the company will have $13 billion mainly in bank debt, which expires from 2013 to 2016.