Go Communications Plans to Raise $100 Million

A little-known Oxnard firm says it has entered into several agreements that will allow it to raise more than $100 million to take part in auctions of federal wireless licenses scheduled for this summer.

In its latest move to bolster its financial strength, the company, Go Communications Corp., plans to sell about 20% of its stock to Alltel Corp. of Little Rock, Ark., for about $40 million.

Fidelity Capital and Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. have already made equity investments worth about $60 million, Go Communications says.

The proposed stock sale to Alltel would be Alltel’s second investment in Go, according to Bloomberg Business News.

In addition, Alltel and Nissho Iwai Corp., Japan’s sixth-largest general trading company, already have separately signed on as strategic investors in Go’s plans to operate personal communications service systems, or PCS, Bloomberg said.

Go Communications was formed in February, 1994, to bid for PCS licenses and then operate the systems.

The company is priming itself to bid on the Federal Communications Commission’s licenses for cellular communications networks, scheduled to begin Aug. 2. The bidding is open to small and medium-sized businesses.

Go Communications has only 14 employees and will qualify for the auction as a small business, according to President Steven Zecola. He told the news service his company will receive a 10% discount on its bids, enabling it to compete against larger concerns.

Alltel said one of its units, Alltel Information Services, will provide Go with development and management assistance under a 10-year agreement, subject to Go securing financing and winning licenses in the FCC auction.

Joe T. Ford, Alltel’s chairman and chief executive, said his company expects to begin some development work with Go next month.