Sale of rural Alaska communication companies completed

MATT NEVALA

June 19, 2008 at 3:19PM AKST

Last week’s finalization of GCI’s multimillion-dollar purchase of communication subsidiaries of United Companies Inc. apparently didn’t send Hooper Bay residents into frenzy.

Or at least not those that frequent Hill and Joe’s Store.

“I haven’t heard complaining or anything like that,” Marlene Olson said from the store.

“I haven’t seen much in the way of smiling faces, either.”

United is a holding company owned by Sea Lion Corp. and Togiak Natives Ltd., the Native village corporations for Hooper Bay and Togiak. The sale of the company could eventually mean larger dividends paid to nearly 600 Sea Lion shareholders if a plan to create an endowment trust with earnings from the sale is implemented.

“We’re in the preliminary stages, but it’s the objective of the board to create the endowment so we may be able to provide an annual payout, a dividend like the Permanent Fund Dividend,” Sea Lion President Myron Naneng said.

GCI said it paid $42 million for the stock of United Utilities, which provides local telephone service to 60 rural Alaska communities, and Unicom.

Unicom operates DeltaNet, a long-haul broadband microwave network ringing the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

GCI is an Anchorage-based company that provides local, long-distance and cellular phone service, cable television and Internet connections throughout Alaska. Officials said the company will use DeltaNet to immediately expand health care and educational opportunities for all residents of the Y-K Delta.

Sometime this summer, DeltaNet will link more than 40 villages to Bethel, the region’s hub.

Sea Lion Corp. and Togiak Natives Ltd. first announced the sale of United Companies in October.

Naneng said the sale, which he signed the final papers for in Anchorage last week, forced some mixed personal feelings. He said the Native village corporations created the communication companies in 1977 for an initial investment of $460,000.

“We’ve been involved in the company for more than 20 years, so it’s kind of bittersweet,” Naneng said. “It’s something we created and we’re proud of.

“People told us we didn’t know anything about telecommunications, we’d lose a lot of money, get out of it. They said to stay home and make arts and crafts — that’s what we’re good at.”

Now, the companies have sold for million of dollars. Naneng said Sea Lion will receive 92 percent of the sale amount, which should make for an interesting shareholder’s meeting next month.

At Hill and Joe’s Store, it kind of caught Olson’s attention.

“I’ll go if I can make it to that meeting,” she said. “I’ll want to hear what they have to say.”

Matt Nevala can be reached at (907) 348-2480 or toll free at (800) 770-9830, ext. 480.