Intelsat’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reconstruction has cost the business some $200 million in legal and professional fees. The end might now be in sight, but there will still be arguments on the exact shape of the new business, and Judge Keith Phillips will still be reviewing documents well into the New Year.

Intelsat entered into bankruptcy on May 15th 2020. Given that there’s a trial still to be slated between SES and Intelsat over the division of payments for freeing up C-band capacity it is quite likely that it will be almost two full years since the process started that the business will be free of litigation.

On December 14^th, the judge had a weighty 189-page bundle placed before his court which provides a formula for how the court could confirm Intelsat’s ‘Third Amended Joint Chapter 11 Plan’ which covers Intelsat and all its sister businesses. The documents contain the draft Order covering the satellite operator’s Exit Plan Confirmation which has clearly advanced in terms of agreements between the various parties over the past week or so.

The bundle contains details as to how Intelsat will finance itself to the tune of some $7.5 billion by means of new borrowings.

Much of the document will now be uncontested. “It is particularly compelling that the Plan is supported by the Debtors, the Disinterested Directors, the Committee, more than 90 percent of the Debtors’ prepetition capital structure, Ad Hoc Groups representing over 80 percent ($11.9 billion) of the Debtors’ funded debt, the Equity Group, SES, and all Plan Classes in which votes were cast,” says Intelsat’s lawyers.

However, there are still elements to be decided, not least which Intelsat entity gets its hands on the FCC’s C-band ‘Accelerated Relocation Payments’.

Other posts by Chris Forrester:

1. Thuraya-3 suffers major problem
2. AST SpaceMobile hit by Class Action
3. Optimism under threat at SES
4. Rivada visits Terran Orbital’s manufacturing HQ
5. Avanti wins spectrum debt obligation case
6. SpaceX breaks records for re-use launchers
7. IRIS2 already in trouble?
8. Intelsat contemplates next steps
9. SpaceX: 2.7m customers and $180bn value

Categories: Blogs, Inside Satellite

Tags: Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Intelsat