The confirmation hearing for Hawaiian Telcom Inc.'s reorganization plan will be delayed by about a month to allow the local phone company's bank lenders and its unsecured creditors to mediate their differences.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King yesterday approved a request to push back the hearing date from Wednesday to Nov. 9, but said he was worried about the cost of the delay.

"I'm concerned that this is taking so long," King said.

Adam Lewis, attorney for the phone company's unsecured creditors committee, said litigation between the local phone company's secured and unsecured creditors is heading into mediation.

Under Hawaiian Telcom's reorganization plan, secured creditors such as Lehman Commercial Paper Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will get about $160 million in new stock issued by Hawaiian Telcom as well as $300 million in new debt.

The secured creditors provided about $1 billion in loans to finance Washington, D.C.-based The Carlyle Group's takeover of the local phone company in 2005.

The company's bondholders will get warrants to acquire stock in the reorganized phone company while other unsecured creditors, such as the company's outside vendors, will see their recovery capped at $500,000.

The bondholders hold about $500 million of the company's debt while vendors hold about $40 million in claims against the company.

Founded in 1883, Hawaiian Telcom is the state's largest phone company, with 1,400 workers and annual revenues of about $500 million.

Hawaiian Telcom filed for bankruptcy reorganization on Dec. 1 because of its heavy debt load and the loss of thousands of customers to wireless and other competitors. The company is pursuing a stand-alone, $460 million reorganization plan that will slash the company's debt. Hawaiian Telcom has said it plans to emerge from bankruptcy by March and return to profitability by the end of 2011.