Advanced Television

NewSat bosses axed

June 5, 2015

By Chris Forrester

The CEO and CFO at troubled Australian satellite (would-be) operator NewSat have been let go from the company which is in bankruptcy administration.  CEO Adrian Ballintine was made redundant last Friday and CFO Mark Spragg let go on June 3rd. The company’s administrators said the two were “surplus to NewSat’s needs”.

Ballintine founded NewSat back in 1987 and had been CEO since 1999.  Mr Spragg had only been in post for a few weeks, and replaced former CFO Linda Dillon who let in an “agreed termination” in April.

The company’s liquidators are now selling off the firm’s assets, but not the half-built Jabiru-1 satellite which builders Lockheed Martin might end up taking back into full ownership. However, the financing banks for the deal (include the US-French Ex-Im Bank) says it hopes that it will not lose its investment on the deal.

One ‘asset’ up for grabs in the original Jabiru launch contract with Arianespace. Originally targeted for launch in 1H/2016 although subsequently slipped to as late as December 2016 – February 2017, the launch slot will have a value in today’s crowded list of satellites waiting in line, and not helped by the hold-ups at Russia’s Proton launch system.

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