LightSquared says that it was right to keep Dish Network Corp. Chairman Charlie Ergen out of its restructuring plans, claiming it is "not required to negotiate with a competitor in its capital structure" even if that competitor owns nearly $1 billion of the company's debt, the Wall Street Journal reported today. In a Saturday filing with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, lawyers for Philip Falcone's wireless venture continued making their case that the reorganization plan is fair to Ergen, LightSquared's top secured lender. "There is simply no doubt that [Ergen] is receiving the indubitable equivalent of its claim," LightSquared said in a filing. Ergen has argued that LightSquared's proposal to pay back his nearly $1 billion in bank debt over seven years via a note, rather than in cash like a group of hedge funds that own the same type of debt, violates the Bankruptcy Code.
