Latest satellite industry news from Milbank's Space Business Review as compiled by Mr Ripp
If you’re keeping pace with events in the space and satellite industry, we offer the latest edition of Space Business Review from law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.
Milbank has one of the highest-flying satellite financing practices. Space Business Review highlights deals, recent launches and service orders, new policy and legislative initiatives affecting commercial satellite companies, and other developments.
Here’s a link to the full stories: http://rippmedia.com/January2013SpaceBusinessReview.pdf
Some news points worth noting:
• Satellite Export Reform – Milbank comments on the newly enacted National Defense Authorization Act, which promises to ease export licensing requirements for U.S. satellite operators by shifting jurisdiction from tough State Dept. munitions control regulations to more streamlined protocols at the Commerce Dept. The firm points out that export bans to embargoed countries such as China, Iran, North Korea and Sudan will remain in place.
• India’s Ambitious Space Plans – India’s government recently committed $7.2 billion to space activities as part of a 5-year investment program led by the Indian Space Research Organization. The fledgling IRSO plans to double its on-orbit transponders from 195 to 400 over the next four years by launching 14 telecom satellites. IRSO also expects to deploy a 7-satellite navigation system with continuous coverage across the Indian Ocean region, and develop a lunch vehicle for large communications satellites. India is clearly poised to become a huge market for the global satellite industry.
• In financing news, Milbank reports a trio of large transactions announced in January:
o The U.S. Export-Import Bank authorized an $87.1 million loan guarantee for Hispasat Canarias, which operates a fleet of communications satellites in Brazil owned by a cooperative of companies in Spain and Latin America. The loan will finance purchase of a new Amazonas-4A satellite scheduled to launch in 2014 and provide voice, wireless, Internet and media services to users in South America.
o Global satellite provider ORBCOMM concluded a 5-year term loan for $45 million from AIG Asset Management. New Jersey-based ORBCOMM plans to repay existing debt and expand product and service offerings, and also pursue acquisition opportunities.
o Liberty Media Corp. disclosed that it had acquired majority ownership of Sirius XM Radio though purchase of 50 million additional shares of SiriusXM stock. Liberty now controls roughly 50.7% of Sirius XM’s outstanding shares.
• Eutelsat’s Next Generation Orbiters – Milbank reports that Europe’s leading satellite operator announced in January that its new Eutelsat 8 West B satellite, scheduled to launch in 2015, will feature a host of new experimental capabilities to mitigate interference, increase its number of active channels and expand options for satellite repositioning.
• New Orders – Space Business Review cites recent big-ticket satellite orders, such as an agreement struck between EADS Astrium, Thales Alenia and Arianespace to manufacture and launch a new satellite for Arab Satellite Communications Corp. The next-gen Badr 7 orbiter will provide telecom and TV service to customers in the Mid East and Africa.
• What’s Next for Spacecom/SpaceX – On Jan. 28, Space Communications and SpaceX announced an agreement to launch a new Spacecom satellite from Cape Canaveral in 2015. The new AMOS-6 satellite, to be built by Israel Aerospace Industries, will provide communications services – including direct satellite-to-home Internet – to users in Africa, the Mid East and Europe.