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Call it eBay for distressed corporate types.
Awash in debt, Miami telecom digger MasTec (NYSE: MTZ) is selling off vehicles, equipment and parts on an auction Web site normally reserved for liquidation sales.
Enron and Tyco (NYSE: TYC), which has operations in Boca Raton, are also auctioning off pieces in similar sales on the site this month.
Last Tuesday, Standard & Poor's cut MasTec's corporate rating to junk status. The specialty contractor focused on telecommunications and energy infrastructure had $197 million in long-term debt on its balance sheet. The outlook is now negative, S&P said.
Foster City, Calif.-based DoveBid conducted two Webcast auctions for MasTec, selling off drills, recycling systems, trucks and trailers, cable racks and drilling equipment.
The auctions, held March 25 and March 28 in Purcell, Okla., and Tampa took live bids via the Internet, and from those attending the events in person.
MasTec auctioned off the surplus equipment to help fund ongoing operations, said John Higgins, DoveBids director of auction services. The sale could fetch...