National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corp, based in Herndon, Virginia, said it would acquire Innovative Telephone Company and other assets of bankrupt Innovative Communication Corp, or ICC, to satisfy part of a bankruptcy judgment against the U.S. Virgin Islands-based corporation.

The cooperative will seek to sell the properties at an unspecified future date, spokesman Mike O'Brien said Monday.

A statement from National Rural said it will look to rehabilitate the telephone operator and other assets to "maximize recovery".

The cooperative did not disclose its valuation for Innovative Telephone Company, previously known as the Virgin Islands Telephone Company, or how much its acquisition would reduce the judgment against ICC. The deal must be approved by a bankruptcy judge.

Until September 2007, ICC was run by US entrepreneur Jeffrey Prosser, whose holdings included wireless, cable and Internet interests in the Caribbean.

AP