Speedcast forecasts solid future
March 19, 2021
Australia-headquartered speciality satellite services business Speedcast formally exited its Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, helped by a significant injection of cash by new private equity owners Centrebridge Partners. It filed for bankruptcy in April 2020 with some $689 million (€579m) in debt.
Speedcast says it is now well-placed for its restructured future. Centrebridge invested some $500 million in new equity and wiping out the operator’s debts. The bankruptcy was caused largely by the collapse in its trading position because of the Coronavirus. It was a major lease-holder of satellite transponder capacity using some 80 satellites around the planet to service its customers.
Speedcast reports that it has $215 million in cash in the bank and expects to achieve revenues of more than $550 million.
The company also has a new CEO, Joe Spytek, who was promoted from CCO to CEO in January, says the focus is still to be the world’s biggest remote ‘pole to pole’ communications provider but will very much be concentrating on integrating its businesses and the more than 60 networks it still operates. It intends to focus on its Energy and Maritime customers.
“I especially want to thank our customers and partners who extended us their trust as we completed our restructuring, and our employees for their dedication to supporting client operations throughout this process,” said Spytek. “I’m eager to work with Centerbridge to position the business for success and give our customers the tools to advance the performance of their operations in today’s changing market landscape.”
Founded in 1989, Speedcast remains the world’s largest remote communications and IT services provider. Serving more than 3200 customers in over 140 countries, the company has a strong customer focus and a strong safety culture.