RESTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 2004--XO Communications, Inc. (OTCBB:XOCM.OB), one of the nation's leading providers of broadband telecommunications services, today issued the following statement in response to claims made by Gores Technology Group, LLC regarding its hiring of Mr. Brian Oliver.
"It is sad that Gores had to resort to making personal attacks rather than speaking to the issues. The fact that Gores had to do this speaks to how weak their position is regarding the hiring of Brian Oliver. While much can be said about Alec Gores' business tactics, both past and present, XO will refrain from stooping to make personal attacks regarding Alec Gores and let the facts speak for themselves," said Carl Grivner, chief executive officer of XO Communications.
"The facts are that Gores and Mr. Oliver were secretly negotiating his employment by Gores to operate the Cable & Wireless America assets Gores is seeking at the very same time that XO was relying on its employee, Mr. Oliver, to represent XO's interest during the bidding process for those assets. Obviously, Mr. Oliver, as XO's lead representative, was privy to sensitive information about XO's strategy with regard to its bidding position for the very same assets. Given the obvious conflict of interest, as soon as the dirty little secret of Gores and Mr. Oliver came to light, XO determined that Mr. Oliver's continued role at XO would end immediately.
"XO continues to believe very strongly that Gores Technology Group should be disqualified from participating in the bidding process for the assets of Cable & Wireless America."
About XO Communications
XO Communications is a leading broadband telecommunications services provider offering a complete set of telecommunications services, including: local and long distance voice, Internet access, Virtual Private Networking (VPN), Ethernet, Wavelength, Web Hosting and Integrated voice and data services.
XO has assembled an unrivaled set of facilities-based broadband networks and Tier One Internet peering relationships in the United States. XO currently offers facilities-based broadband telecommunications services within and between more than 70 markets throughout the United States.
