Loral Space & Communications will sell satellites to Intelsat for $1.1 billion

By Carlise Newman

Chicago, Oct. 20 - Loral Space & Communications said that Intelsat, Ltd. was the highest bidder in an auction held today for Loral's North American telecommunications satellites for $1.1 billion. The other bidder at the auction was EchoStar Communications Corp.

Intelsat's bid is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The court will consider Loral's motion to approve the sale to Intelsat at a hearing scheduled for Oct. 22.

On July 15, Loral announced that it had reached a definitive agreement to sell its North American telecommunications satellites to Intelsat. The agreement provided for the sale of the in-orbit Telstars 4, 5, 6, 7 and 13, as well as Telstar 8, which is scheduled to be launched in the first half of next year. After that announcement, Telstar 4 failed and was considered a total loss, but it is fully insured.

The New York-based satellite operator intends to reorganize around its remaining fleet of five satellites and its satellite manufacturing operations, allowing the company to go forward as a viable enterprise with opportunities for future growth.

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