A private-equity firm backed out of a deal to acquire LightSquared Inc., the telecommunications firm in bankruptcy proceedings, amid uncertainty over when federal regulators would clear the way for the company to build out its wireless network, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Centerbridge Partners LP abandoned the deal "for economic and noneconomic reasons," a LightSquared lawyer said yesterday during a bankruptcy court hearing. Centerbridge worried that LightSquared would burn hefty amounts of cash while waiting for approval from regulators, including those at the Federal Communications Commission, to pursue a so-called spectrum swap that would allow the company to build out its network. With no assurances that a decision from the agency would come soon, Centerbridge decided against investing money in LightSquared.
