A monthly round-up of space industry developments for the information of our clients and friends.
Eutelsat €300m Bond Offering
On October 1, Eutelsat Communications S.A. announced the issuance by Eutelsat S.A. of €300m of 10-year senior unsecured bonds. Priced at 99.148% and redeemed at 100%, the bonds carry a coupon of 3.125% per annum and will mature in 2022. Proceeds from the financing will be used for general corporate purposes. Credit Agricole and Société Générale served as joint bookrunners for the issuance.
Telesat $200m Bond Add-On Offering
On October 29, Telesat Canada (Telesat), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telesat Holdings Inc., issued $200m in aggregate principal amount of 6% senior notes due 2017 as an add-on to the $700m in aggregate principal amount of 6% senior notes issued earlier this year, creating a single class of $900m in aggregate principal amount of notes under the indenture dated May 14, 2012. Telesat intends to use the net proceeds from the add-on offering to repay certain indebtedness owed to its principal shareholders, Loral Space & Communications Inc. and Public Sector Pension Investment Board, and for general corporate purposes. Credit Suisse, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley served as arrangers for the offering.
Astro Malaysia IPO Raises $1.5b
On October 4, Malaysian satellite pay-TV operator Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad (Astro Malaysia) priced its initial public offering on the Bursa Malaysia at 3.00 ringgit ($0.98) per share, at the top of the proposed 2.70-3.00 ringgit price range. With an offering of more than 1.5b ordinary shares, Astro Malaysia raised approximately 4.55b ringgit ($1.49b), making its IPO the third-largest in Malaysia and the eighth-largest in the world so far in 2012. Astro Malaysia plans to use the proceeds from the initial public offering to repay existing debt and for capital expenditures.
DirecTV Secures $3b in Revolvers
On October 5, DIRECTV, LLC entered into two new revolving credit facility agreements worth a total of $3b. The revolvers, due in February 2016 and September 2017 respectively, will replace a 2011 credit agreement and will be unsecured senior obligations of DIRECTV Holdings LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DIRECTV, LLC. October Launch Services October 12 – Arianespace S.A. successfully launched two Galileo IOV-1 satellites for the European Space Agency's Galileo constellation on a Soyuz launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. Both satellites were manufactured by a consortium led by EADS Astrium.
October 14 – International Launch Services successfully launched the Intelsat 23 satellite for Intelsat S.A. on an ILS Proton launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation, Intelsat 23 carries 46 C- and 24 Ku-band transponders and will provide enhanced capacity for corporate communications, oil & gas and data networking applications. Intelsat 23 will replace the Intelsat 707 satellite at the 307°E orbital location, from where it will provide coverage of the Americas, Europe and Africa.
October Satellite Orders
October 10 – SES S.A. announced that it has selected Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems (Boeing) to manufacture the SES-9 satellite based on Boeing's 702HP platform. Scheduled for launch in 2015, SES-9 will carry 57 Ku-band transponders and will provide, from the 108.2°E orbital location, DTH and other communications services to Northeast Asia, South Asia and Indonesia and maritime services to vessels in the Indian Ocean.
October 11 – Eutelsat Communications S.A. announced that it has awarded Thales Alenia Space a contract to manufacture the EUTELSAT 8 West B satellite. Scheduled for launch in 2015, Eutelsat 8 West B will carry 40 Ku- and 10 C-band transponders and provide DTH services to North Africa and the Middle East from the 8°W orbital location.
October Launch Services Orders
On October 17, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Arianespace S.A. announced an agreement for the launches of GSAT 7, a multiband telecommunications satellite, and INSAT 3D, a dedicated weather satellite. Both manufactured by ISRO, GSAT 7 and INSAT 3D will be launched as secondary payloads on Ariane 5 launch vehicles in the second quarter of 2013 from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana.
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