Intelsat unsecured creditors win access to bankruptcy court
May 29, 2020
By Chris Forrester
Some Intelsat smaller shareholders are appealing to the US Trustee that they gain special representation in the bankruptcy court, saying that they are being ignored in the satellite operator’s reconstruction and that they fear being wiped out in the process.
There is a planned hearing on June 9th into many matters connected with Intelsat’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Their letter to US Trustee John Fitzgerald, first reported in Via Satellite, states: “[Intelsat] management deliberately defaulted on a debt payment when they had the cash on hand to pay. They also stated that the bankruptcy was only necessary to acquire a bridge loan that would allow the company to move forward on a lucrative 5G FCC contract. After filing for bankruptcy, management revealed that they had sourced the bridge loan internally, but now wished to use this opportunity for a full restructure. Wiping out shareholders would seem to be management’s logical next step – given such a lack of transparency.”
The letter also referred to allegations of insider trading and said that Intelsat’s management had not acted in the best interests of all shareholders.
Fitzgerald on May 27th created a committee of unsecured creditors comprising Boeing, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp, Delaware Trust, JSAT International and others to serve.