SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
February 9, 1998
_________________________________
(Date of earliest event reported)
Paging Network, Inc.
______________________________________________________
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 0-19494 04-2740516
______________ _____________________ __________________
(State of (Commission File No.) (IRS Employer
Incorporation) Identification No.)
4965 Preston Park Boulevard
Plano, Texas 75093
____________________________________________________________
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
(972) 985-4100
____________________________________________________
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
n/a
_____________________________________________________________
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Item 5. Other Events
On February 9, 1998, the Registrant issued the attached press release.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits
99.1 Press Release, dated February 9, 1998
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its
behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: February 13, 1998
Paging Network, Inc.
By: /s/ G. Robert Thompson
____________________________
G. Robert Thompson
Vice President - Finance
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Jenny Haynes
(972) 985-6750
Scott Baradell
(972) 985-6791
PAGENET ANNOUNCES REORGANIZATION TO FACILITATE NEW STRATEGY,
POSITION COMPANY FOR LONG-TERM PROFITABLE GROWTH
DALLAS, February 9, 1998 -- PageNet (Nasdaq: PAGE), the world's largest
wireless messaging company, today announced it will implement a major
realignment of its U.S. operations.
John P. Frazee, Jr., PageNet's chairman, president and CEO, said the
reogranization is aimed at creating a world-class organization that
will achieve long-term profitable growth through the creation and
delivery of branded, customized, value-added wireless information
services.
"Fundamentally, our network, our distribution channels and our customer
base are a platform -- a powerful platform for supplying all kinds of
information broadly, quickly and conveniently. That information can be
a simple personal alert -- the traditional paging message -- but it also
can be much more than that. As PageNet will soon begin demonstrating
through a number of promising initiatives, we are beginning to evolve
from a paging or wireless messaging company to something significantly
broader: a wireless information provider," said Mr. Frazee.
"We have barely scratched the surface of our ability to offer
customized, value-added information services to our customers. These
information services will span the worlds of business and finance;
government and education; sports and entertainment; information
oriented to consumers and to individual corporations; and other
targeted, branded applications that will be marketed and distributed by
PageNet and transmitted over our wireless network," he said.
"The primary objective of this realignment is to create the
organization that can best take advantage of the opportunities ahead
while improving the fundamentals of our core business. Our aim is to
create an organization that achieves profitable growth and a strong
balance sheet for our shareowners, provides superior service to our
customers, and offers an exciting and rewarding work environment for
our employees."
To accommodate the realignment, PageNet will record a charge in the
range of $65 million to $80 million during the first quarter of 1998.
The company said it expects to realize annual recurring performance
improvements and cost savings of $45 million to $55 million when the
realignment plan is completed in nine to 15 months. Additionally, the
company expects the realignment to result in sales productivity
increases that, together with associated price increases, will result
in approximately $75 million in incremental annual revenues upon
completion of the reorganization.
PageNet will create an expanded sales organization, eliminate redundant
regional administrative operations, and consolidate key support
functions into company-wide Centers of Excellence. Support functions
to be consolidated include customer service, billing and accounting,
order fulfillment and inventory management, and some technical
operations.
While the addition of sales personnel and the creation of Centers of
Excellence will create jobs in some cities, the consolidation of
support functions -- today dispersed across approximately 50 locations
across the country -- will result in the net elimination of about 30
percent of the company's 6,000 positions in the United States over the
next nine to 15 months. The company expects a large percentage of the
workforce reductions to be accomplished through attrition, although
severance, outplacement and counseling plans are being established to
assist employees whose jobs will be eliminated or relocated.
"This realignment is the culmination of a collaborative effort between
PageNet associates and outside consultants, and has included input from
more than 300 PageNet colleagues. While it has required a number of
difficult decisions and will ultimately affect the jobs of many of our
associates, it is a solid, forward-looking plan that will help us to
reach our goals as an organization. The realignment creates a
flexible, efficient organization for launching and supporting our new
strategy," Mr. Frazee said.
PageNet is a wireless information provider serving more than 10.3
million subscribers in the United States and Canada through a
coast-to-coast network of sales and service offices, resellers and
affiliates. PageNet offers text and numeric messaging with local,
regional and nationwide coverage options. PageNet also provides
broadcast and personalized information services, including exclusive
CNN news, sports and financial updates. Detailed information and
coverage maps for PageNet services are available on the Internet at
www.pagenet.com.
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Safe Harbor Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
The statements contained in this release which are not historical
facts, such as those concerning the future development and performance
of new products and services and future charges, performance
improvements, cost savings, attrition rates, and sales productivity and
revenue increases, are forward-looking statements that are subject to
risks and uncertainties and could differ materially from those set
forth in the forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could
cause actual future results to differ materially are the accuracy of
assumptions regarding the reorganization plan, timing considerations,
competitive pressures, growth rates and acceptance of PageNet's
services in the marketplace.
PageNet(R) is a registered trademark of Paging Network, Inc.
