EchoStar Bidding for Intelsat

According to media reports and a source close to the deal, EchoStar Communications Corp. along with Liberty Media are reportedly bidding for Intelsat, the largest satellite operator in the world.

After it’s merger with PanAmSat last year, Intelsat currently has a fleet of 51 satellites in operation. It was reported in April that a consortium of private equity investment firms made a bid for Intelsat to the tune of $5.5 billion US dollars.

EchoStar Communications control the second largest direct-to-home service in the US Liberty Media will take control of the #1 US satellite TV operator DirecTV Group Inc. later this year. The two companies are reportedly preparing a joint bid for Intelsat.

Three years ago, Intelsat was purchased by a private equity consortium for $515 million US dollars and assumption of debt, which has since ballooned to $11 billion with revenues of about $2 billion US dollars last year.

Analysts speculate that demand for for transponder capacity will increase in the new few years fueled by consumer broadband, mobile services and new applications such as HDTV and IPTV.

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Written by Jim Taylor on June 20th, 2007 with no comments.
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