Primus Telecom

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Primus Telecommunications Group, Inc.
Type Public OTCBB (NASDAQ: PRTL)
Founded 1994
Headquarters McLean, Virginia, USA
Key people K. Paul Singh, Chairman & CEO
Thomas R. Kloster, CFO
Tracy Book Lawson, Principle Accounting Officer
Industry Telecommunications
Products Long Distance Telephony, Wireless, VoIP
Revenue $902 Million USD (2007) [1]
Net income ▲$15.7 Million USD (2007) [2]
Employees 2,800 (2006)
Website www.primustel.com


Primus Telecom is a telecommunications provider, founded in 1994 by ex-MCI executives. The company is listed on the OTCBB (Nasdaq: PRTL) with world headquarters in Fairfax County, and with subsidiaries in Australia and Canada and (to a lesser extent) Japan, Brazil, UK and other generating a majority of its revenue.

As of 2008, the company's stock had dropped more than 99% from its peak in early 2000,[3] amid declining revenue and accelerating losses.[4],[5] According to the company's SEC filings, "Primus did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2006, due to the material weakness in the Company’s internal control over accounting for income taxes...."[6] In 2007, Primus Telecom admitted paying more than $22 million to settle a lawsuit alleging illegal or fraudulent transfers of funds.[7] Primus Telecom has also been named as a defendant in additional federal litigation.[8]

In the United States, Primus Telecom markets its subsidiary Lingo, a Voice over IP service that competes with similar services such as Vonage. Lingo has been the subject of consumer complaints and negative reviews reporting refusal to honor refunds and deteriorating quality.[9],[10],[11]

Starting at the end of 2006, Primus introduced its Prepaid and Postpaid calling plan, called Globetalk. This plan provides low 7.7c/minute rates from the USA to India, and 3.9c/minute within the USA, without the customer having to change their current long distance provider.[12]

Primus is a heavily leveraged company, with indebtedness exceeding $585 million as of May 22, 2008. It is in the midst of a multi-year program of debt reduction and maturity extension, achieved principally through the issuance of high-interest, long-dated bonds in order to fund, directly or indirectly, the discounted repurchase and retirement of previously outstanding debt.[13]


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