Intelsat reaches agreement with Speedcast
July 8, 2020
By Chris Forrester
Intelsat, which is currently trading as a ‘debtor in possession’, will continue supplying its global satellite services to Australia-based SpeedCast International, which is also in bankruptcy reorganisation.
It means that Intelsat will waive its current $44 million claim against SpeedCast and continue to be a primary bandwidth provider to SpeedCast. Speedcast entered bankruptcy on April 23rd.
Intelsat is seen as a critical vendor to many of SpeedCast’s clients insofar as they use dishes pointed to Intelsat’s orbiting craft.
The terms of the agreement between the two have been sealed by court handling Intelsat’s bankruptcy.
Intelsat’s statement and filing to the court says: “In order to continue the provision of services, on April 21, 2020, Intelsat and SpeedCast Communications, Inc., one of the Speedcast debtors, entered into a letter agreement (“April Letter Agreement”), which provided for, among other things, the Debtors’ continued service to Speedcast through June 30, 2020 on the terms described therein and an agreement that the Debtors would have a $44 million dollar unsecured claim in Speedcast’s chapter 11 cases. The Speedcast Court approved the April Letter Agreement on April 24, 2020.”
SpeedCast and Intelsat have subsequently agreed (‘The July Letter Agreement’) to enter into a new contract. “Specifically, the July Letter Agreement contains proprietary business deals for both Speedcast and the Debtors which are generally not made public,” said Intelsat’s filing.