Rural wireless Internet provider Open Range Communications filed Thursday in Delaware for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
On Wednesday, the Greenwood Village- based company that provides service in 17 states laid off 122 employees, leaving a staff of 48, and chief executive Bill Beans resigned. In court documents, Open Range said it sought bankruptcy after failing to retain U.S. Department of Agriculture funding and bandwidth.
Open Range listed assets of about $114 million and liabilities of about $110 million. Open Range had an operating loss of $50.4 million last year on sales of $1.7 million.
The company’s largest unsecured creditors include Adesta of Omaha, owed $7.57 million, and Velocitel of Cary, N.C., owed $5.59 million, both in trade debt. JPMorgan Chase’s One Equity Partners, based in New York, has a claim for $2.78 million in management fees.
