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
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Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): January 3, 2001
e.spire Communications, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
State of Delaware 0-25314 52-1947746
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(State or other jurisdiction of (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) File No.) Identification No.)
12975 Worldgate Drive
Herndon, Virginia 20701
(Address of Principal Executive (Zip Code)
Offices)
(703) 639-6000
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(Registrant's telephone number,
including area code)
<PAGE>
Item 9 Regulation FD Disclosure
The press release attached as Exibit 99.1 hereto is furnished pursuant to
Regulation FD; it is not filed.
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(c) Exhibits
Exhibit Number Reference
(99) Additional Exhibits
Press Release dated January 10, 2001 Exhibit 99.1
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Act of
1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
e.spire Communications, Inc.
By:
Date: January 15, 2001 /s/ JULIETTE PRYOR
Juliette Pryor, Senior Vice President,
General Counsel and Secretary
<PAGE>
Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TWO NEW DIRECTORS
NAMED TO e.spire BOARD
Dennis Feely and Stanton Williams Both Bring Extensive
Telecommunications Background To Board of Competitive Local Exchange Company
HERNDON, VA, JANUARY 10, 2001-- e.spire Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESPI)
today announced the appointment of Dennis Feely and Stanton Williams as new
members to its Board of Directors.
"We feel fortunate to have these two telecommunications industry veterans
on our board," said George F. Schmitt, e.spire Chairman and Acting Chief
Executive Officer, in announcing the appointments. "Both Dennis and Stan have
strong backgrounds in telecom start-ups and operations. Their addition to the
board will give us added strength as we move to grow the company in 2001 and
beyond."
Feely is the founder and CEO of Telecom Group, Inc., a satellite, cellular,
GSM and wireless telecommunications consulting and service provider. The
Dallas-based company, founded in 1992, has provided satellite-based telecom
facilities to the United Nations, Harris Corporation, European Broadcasting
Union and many international companies. He was also a founder and executive vice
president of IDB/Worldcom, which began as a three-person company in 1982 and has
now grown to the multi-billion dollar MCI Worldcom. He holds a BS degree in
electrical engineering from the University of Delaware.
Williams, currently working as a consultant to NTL Incorporated, previously
served as director of corporate development for the company. He also worked as
chief financial officer of Cellular Communications International, Inc. and
Cellular Communications of Puerto Rico, Inc. from 1995 to 1999. He holds an MBA
from Harvard and an undergraduate degree in physics from Dartmouth College.
"e.spire is a company with a strong history of effective deployment of
technology to serve customers," Feely said. "I look forward to working with
George and his team to build on that history."
"The growth possibilities of e.spire represent a wonderful opportunity for
both the company and its customers," said Williams. "I am excited to become a
part of that mission and to helping advance the business plans laid out by
George and the leadership of e.spire."
<PAGE>
-more-
TWO NEW DIRECTORS NAMED TO e.spire BOARD/Page 2
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The appointment of Feely and Williams brings the total board membership to
nine.
e.spire Communications, Inc. is a leading integrated communications
provider, offering traditional local and long distance, dedicated Internet
access, and advanced data solutions, including ATM and frame relay. e.spire also
provides Web hosting, dedicated server, and collocation services through its
Internet subsidiary, CyberGate, Inc., and its subsidiary ValueWeb. e.spire's
subsidiary, ACSI Network Technologies, Inc., provides third parties, including
other communications concerns, municipalities, and corporations, with turnkey
fiber-optic design, construction, and project management expertise. More
information about e.spire is available at e.spire's Web site, www.espire.net.
The company's stock trades on the NASDAQ market under the symbol ESPI.
Certain statements regarding the development of the Company's businesses,
the markets for the Company's services and products, the Company's anticipated
capital expenditures, anticipated EBITDA and other statements are
forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995) which can be identified as any statement that
does not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking
statements use such words as plans, expects, will, will likely result, are
expected to, will continue, is anticipated, estimate, project, believes,
anticipates, intends and expects, may, should, continue, seek, could and other
similar expressions. Although the Company believes that its expectations are
based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations
will be achieved. The important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements herein (the
"Cautionary Statements") include, without limitation, the Company's degree of
financial leverage, risks associated with debt service requirements and interest
rate fluctuations, risks associated with acquisitions and the integration
thereof, the impact of restriction under the Company's financial instruments,
dependence on availability of transmission facilities, regulation risks
including the impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, contingent
liabilities, the impact of competitive services and pricing, the ability of the
Company to successfully implement its strategies, as well as the other risks
referenced from time to time in the Company's filings with the SEC, including
the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999. All subsequent
written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or
persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the
Cautionary Statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release
publicly any revisions to such forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
Contact:
Peggy Disney
e.spire Communications
703.639.6738
[email protected]
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