Yipes swipes office rights in court sale

Yipes Communications, which delivers high-speed Internet connections to businesses, acquired from Broadband Office the rights to serve more than 3,500 office buildings in a bankruptcy court sale. After gaining approval in a Delaware court, Yipes paid $2 million in cash and $2.5 million in equity, and forgave a $900,000 bridge loan it had granted to Broadband Office, a carrier that built network connections for businesses in high-rise offices. Broadband Office, backed by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, struggled like many of the other "in-building local exchange carriers." The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. By acquiring the rights previously negotiated by Broadband Office, Yipes gains access agreements with nine major commercial real estate companies serving more than 100 million square feet of office space in two-dozen cities.