Intelsat, Echostar looking at Hughes Comms
January 31, 2011
By Chris Forrester
Fifty-seven per cent of satellite broadband supplier Hughes Communications is being put up for sale by private equity investor Apollo. Intelsat, Echostar and Inmarsat are each said to be looking at the stake and have expressed interest.
Maryland-based Hughes sells satellite capacity, including broadband, to the US government, large businesses and private consumers not well served by conventional terrestrial services. HughesNet is its main service which it operates from its Spaceway 3 Ka-band craft. Hughes has also bought capacity from London-based newcomer Avanti Communications on Avanti’s new Hylas-1 satellite.
Hughes has hired Barclays Capital to advise it on the potential transaction. A new round of bidding is expected in February.
Other posts by Chris Forrester:
- Intelsat C-band ‘insider trading’ case dismissed
- UK Space Agency funds de-orbit scheme for OneWeb
- AST SpaceMobile to launch satellites in August
- SpaceRISE silent on reports of demise
- Project Kuiper seeks India licence
- FAA suspends SpaceX launches
- SpaceX vs AST SpaceMobile
- Eumetsat explains Ariane 6 cancellation
- AST SpaceMobile examines emergency call obligations