Intelsat reaches debt agreement
August 25, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Intelsat has told its Chapter 11 bankruptcy court that it has achieved the support of some of its major debt holders. Intelsat says that it could lead to a “comprehensive” financial restructuring that would reduce the operator’s debt by more than half – from almost $15 billion (€12.7bn) to $7 billion.
The proposal, which comes with Intelsat’s Amended Plan of Reorganisation, has to be approved by its bankruptcy court. If accepted, it could mean Intelsat exiting bankruptcy by the end of this year.
“The Amended Plan has the support of holders of approximately $11 billion, or nearly 75 per cent, of the Company’s funded debt. These supporting creditors have executed a Plan Support Agreement that binds their support for the Company’s Amended Plan,” states Intelsat.
The Amended Plan provides that Intelsat will emerge as a private company, with the support of new equity owners, to best advance its strategic objectives and accelerate its growth trajectory, with a path to becoming publicly traded again at some point in the next five years.
Intelsat’s 607-page Plan document was filed with the bankruptcy court on August 24th. There is a scheduled hearing before Judge Keith Phillips on September 1st.