Free Newsletter Subscription
        MCN All Access

Liberty/EchoStar, Loral Submit Intelsat Bids

BC Partners Also Bids; Providence Equity Partners, Carlyle Group, Macquarie Bank May Follow Suit

By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 6/17/2007 7:23:00 AM

Liberty Media and EchoStar Communications submitted a joint bid for Intelsat, and Loral Space & Communications is also in the auction, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

That means, in essence, that three satellite companies are among those vying for Intelsat, the world’s largest operator of commercial satellites.

Liberty is acquiring a large stake in DirecTV, the biggest direct-broadcast satellite operator and a rival to EchoStar’s Dish Network. Liberty’s and EchoStar’s joint offer for Intelsat signals the two competing companies’ increasing efforts to band together in some arenas.

The Journal also reported that European private-equity group BC Partners bid for Intelsat, and that Providence Equity Partners, Carlyle Group and Macquarie Bank cold enter the fray later.

Intelsat is expected to draw bids of $4.5 billion-$5.5 billion.

If Liberty and EchoStar do have the winning Intelsat bid, it’s expected to raise antitrust issues. Intelsat’s 51 birds deliver video and voice around the world, and they also distribute programming domestically for a large cadre of cable networks, such as HBO. Even the nation’s largest cable company, Comcast, is a client of Intelsat.

Comcast declined to comment last week, but it remains to be seen if cable companies sit silently by as their two DBS rivals, which beam TV programming directly to consumers, try to purchase the largest purveyor of fixed-satellite services, a wholesaler.

Talkback
Related Content

No related content found.

More >>>

Newbay Business Information Resource Center

Featured Company


Most Recent Resources

Advertisement
More Content
  • Voices
  • Photos
  • Podcasts

Jon Lafayette

Counter Programming

Jon Lafayette
February 15, 2010
Difficult Tales Told By Reporter on HBO
The film Reporter documents several tragedies at once. The first is a story of...
More

Scott Greczkowski

The Satellite Dish

Scott Greczkowski
February 15, 2010
RFD-TV Gets a Stay
As we reported in Fridays edition of “The Satellite Dish” it looked...
More

Satellite Entourage

FREEZE FRAME

Parties, conferences and events for the week of Feb. 8.
DESIGN BY NIGHT

FREEZE FRAME

Parties, conferences and events for the week of Feb. 1.
KEYSTONE HUNT

FREEZE FRAME

Parties, conferences and events for the week of Dec. 14.



Advertisement
About Us   |   Advertising Info   |   Site Map   |   Contact Us   |   Subscription   |   Affiliate Links   |   RSS
© 2011 NewBay Media, LLC. 28 East 28th Street, 12th floor, New York, NY 10016 T (212) 378-0400 F (212) 378-0470
Use of this website is subject to its Terms of Use | Privacy Policy