A private equity firm that controls some of Hawai'i top hotels will become a shareholder in Hawaiian Telcom Inc.

Cerberus Capital Management LP on Tuesday filed papers in U.S. Bankruptcy Court saying it acquired more than $7.6 million of Hawaiian Telcom's bank debt from from JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Cerberus already owns a 65 percent stake in the Japan-based owner of the Sheraton Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian and the Sheraton Moana Surfrider.

It also owns 30 percent of the company that owns the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and the Hapuna Beach Prince Resort and the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on the Big Island.

Much of that debt will be converted into Hawaiian Telcom equity once the company emerges from bankruptcy protection sometime next year.

A Cerberus spokeswoman declined comment when asked whether the investment firm plans to increase its stake in Hawaiian Telcom.

Cerberus is just one of several investment firms looking to purchase Hawaiian Telcom's secured bank debt, according to a person familiar with the bankruptcy proceedings.

Currently, the company's bank debt, which amounts to about $500 million, is trading around 60 percent of the original loan value.

Under a $460 million reorganization plan confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court last week, Hawaiian Telcom plans to slash its debt by nearly $800 million by converting much of its bank loans into equity.

The reorganization, which requires approval from the state Public Utilities Commission, wipes out all but a small portion of The Carlyle Group's interest in the local phone company. Carlyle, a Washington, D.C.-based investment firm, purchased Hawaiian Telcom in 2005 for $1.6 billion.

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

The company filed for bankruptcy protection last December due to its heavy debt load and the loss of thousands of customers to wireless firms and other competitors.

Established in 1992, Cerberus is one of the largest private equity firms with more than $27 billion under management.

Cerberus — named after the mythical three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the ancient Greek underworld — controlled Chrysler Corp. prior to its recent bankruptcy and owns a majority stake in lender GMAC Inc.

The company also owns a 65 percent share of Kokusai Kogyo KK, which owns The Royal Hawaiian and Sheraton hotels in Waikíkí, and holds a 30 percent stake in Seibu Holdings Inc., which owns the Prince hotel chain in Hawai'i.

The company's lending arm, Ableco Finance LLC, also served as the lender for Aloha Airlines during its 2004-2006 bankruptcy.