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Time runs out for SatMex deal
Chris Forrester ©RapidTVNews | 16-03-2010
It seems that EchoStar’s plan to acquire Satmex has failed.
A somewhat downbeat Dean Olmstead, President/EchoStar Satellite Services, talking to delegates at Satellite 2010 in Washington, admitted that with the midnight March 15 deadline fast approaching, and no sign of an agreement in sight, the deal would die.
He made a personal statement, saying that in his view the hedge funds, mostly in control of SatMex’s bonds, were the problem. “They are hell-bent on destruction” as far as the purchase was concerned, he said.
The bondholders’ opposition to the deal has been known since March 3, although most observers assumed that in the absence of any other offer on the table then at the end of the day some sort of compromise would be reached.
Not so.
The original plan saw EchoStar working alongside MVS Comunicaciones to jointly acquire an ownership position in SatMex, and offering up $267m in cash, plus releasing around $107m on SatMex’s books, meaning a total of $374m for SatMex.
© Rapid TV News 2010
