Icahn Increases Bid for Global’s Debt

Carl Icahn’s XO Communications Inc. raised to $495 million its offer to buy debt held by bank lenders to Global Crossing Ltd. in a bid to win control of the bankrupt network operator and scuttle a previous sale agreement.

XO wants Global Crossing’s 100,000-mile fiber optic network for sending phone calls and data at high speeds and has said it also would pay $700 million for the company’s assets. Global Crossing and its bondholders had agreed to sell a 61.5% stake to Singapore Technologies Telemedia, with creditors getting the rest. That arrangement has yet to win U.S. approval.