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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): November 13, 2000
GLOBAL TELESYSTEMS, INC.
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(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)
DELAWARE
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(State of other jurisdiction of incorporation)
0-23717 94-3068423
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(Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.)
4121 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22203
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(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(703) 236-3100
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Registrant's telephone number including area code
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(Former Address, if changed since Last Report) (Zip Code)
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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS
On November 13, 2000, Global TeleSystems, Inc. (the "Company")
announced its results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30,
2000. The press release announcing the results is included as an exhibit to
this report.
The release also discussed a plan by which the Company will focus on
providing broadband services to traditional carriers, Internet service
providers, application service providers, other Web-centric entities and data
intensive pan-European corporations. The objective of the restructuring is to
position the Company as a data services-only provider, which the Company expects
will have positive earnings, before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization (EBITDA). As part of this refocusing, the Company will immediately
restructure into four "stand alone" business units -- GTS Broadband Services;
GTS Business Services; GTS Central Europe; and Golden Telecom, Inc. The Company
intends to sell the portion of its Business Services and Central Europe units
focused on serving small-to-medium-sized enterprises ("SME's") and has retained
an investment bank to assist in the sale of these assets.
These actions are intended to simplify the organization and operations
of the Company. As a result of these initiatives, the Company expects that it
will incur a charge for severance, shut-down activities, legal and professional
fees as well as the write-off of certain intangible assets, including goodwill
related to the Business Services businesses. This charge is expected to be in
the range of $800 million to $850 million, of which $750 million to $775 million
is anticipated to be non-cash, prior to any proceeds that may result from the
intended sales transactions.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, AND EXHIBITS.
(a) Exhibits
99.1 Press Release dated November 13, 2000.
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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.
GLOBAL TELESYSTEMS, INC.
By: /s/ Grier C. Raclin
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Grier C. Raclin
Executive Vice President,
Chief Administrative Officer
and General Counsel
Date: November 13, 2000
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EXHIBIT INDEX
EXHIBIT NO. DESCRIPTION
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99.1 Press Release dated November 13, 2000.