Metro One Telecommunications (NDAQ:INFO) shares moved up $0.12, or 5.91%, to $2.15 after Strategic Turnaround Partners LP (STEP) disclosed a 9.17% stake and expressed their concern over the current management and direction of the company in a Schedule 13D filing with the SEC. The hedge fund said that it has been supportive of the company's management and efforts to lower operating cost structure and respond to the loss of significant contracts; however, they now believe that the company's board and management develop an efficient and effective plan to realize the company's growth potential over the next year. Moreover, STEP said they read the 13D filing by Everest Special Situation Fund LP and agreed with the demands made to the company's board to maximize shareholder value, including bringing in an executive experienced in coporate restructurings. Finally, they asked that the company install one of its own nominees to the board of directors to help the company implement these changes.

Everest Special Situations Fund, an 8.1% holder, obtained board representation in April 2006, and has since been lobbying the board from within to take immediate action to restructure the company's operations and lower the company's cost structure in response to the loss of the company's largest customers and heavy operating losses. However, despite their efforts, the company has failed to take the immediate and aggressive measures necessary to make the company profitable. The hedge fund said that the company's chairman of the board, William Rutherford, has been slow to make important decisions and has not provided the leadership that the company needs to counteract these losses. As a result, Everest made three demands in a Schedule 13D/A filing that STEP now supports:

1. Call for the resignation of the company's chairman of the board, William Rutherford.
2. Elect a representative of one of the company's largest stockholders as a chairman of the board.
3. Hire a chief restructuring officer or similar executive who specializes in corporate turnarounds.

Finally, Everest said that it may seek to replace members of the company's board through a proxy contest at the next shareholders meeting if necessary. This is all good news for shareholders who have dealt with significant losses now for several years. The company's stock has dropped more than 98% since its highs in mid-2001, and the only way it is going to turn itself around is with a good turnaround team and confident leadership. Combined, these factors make INFO a stock worth watching!

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