EchoStar Communications has submitted a bid to acquire Loral’s six North American satellites, as well as the balance of Loral’s FSS fleet and its satellite manufacturing assets. In a press statement, Loral confirmed that it had received the EchoStar offer and that it would evaluate the bid consistent with the procedures of the U.S. bankruptcy court overseeing its Chapter 11 proceedings.
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- In July, Loral Space & Communications and certain of its subsidiaries filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions. In a related transaction, Loral agreed to sell six satellites and the rights to their orbital locations to Intelsat for up to $1 billion. Intelsat said the proposed acquisition of the Loral assets would complement the Intelsat global network, which includes capacity on 26 satellites. The Loral satellites would add complete coverage of the North American market and increase Intelsat’s customer base in the cable television and broadcasting segments. Of the six satellites to be purchased, four are operational, serving cable television, broadcast and private data network customers in North America. Two satellites are currently under construction and are scheduled to be launched into North American orbital locations in the coming year. Intelsat would assume responsibility for launch and insurance-related costs for one of the satellites currently under construction and would make a $100 million secured down payment on a future satellite to be built by Space Systems/Loral to Intelsat’s specifications.