An unconfirmed report (from the ‘Directors Talk/Betaville’ blog) says that troubled satellite operator Avanti Communications is “on the verge of securing an agreement for a sale”.

The report says that 60 per cent of Avanti’s 2016 bondholders (notably MAST Capital and Solus Alternative Asset Mgt, which between them own 26 per cent of Avanti’s equity) have agreed to a recent proposal from Avanti to defer payments of $32.25 million imminently due on their bonds.  The report says that Avanti’s management have spent the past weeks “trying to get the other bondholders on board” and that the confirmed total of bondholders content to wait is now 90 per cent.

Avanti itself was expected to report its 2016 full-year results during September but stayed silent.

The last official world from Avanti (on September 15th) stated that due diligence was taking place by “interested parties” and that Avanti’s board intended to request “best and final indicative offers” for either a strategic investment or potential acquisition. Avanti’s position is not helped by debt obligations of some $645 million.

Avanti has meanwhile won some modest capacity contracts serving Africa but has delayed an interim payment of $39 million as part of its overall purchase of a satellite being built by Orbital ATK of Virgina, and initially due for launch early next year.

Other posts by Chris Forrester:

1. Virgin Galactic in stock split
2. Thuraya-3 suffers major problem
3. AST SpaceMobile hit by Class Action
4. Optimism under threat at SES
5. Rivada visits Terran Orbital’s manufacturing HQ
6. Avanti wins spectrum debt obligation case
7. SpaceX breaks records for re-use launchers
8. IRIS2 already in trouble?
9. Intelsat contemplates next steps

Categories: Blogs, Business, Inside Satellite, M&A