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April 17, 2007
Intelsat On the Block; $6-billion Bid Made

New York
Intelsat Ltd, the world's largest commercial satellite operator is up for sale, two US newspapers reported Tuesday.

The private equity funds that bought the company three years ago for $3.1 billion are seeking buyers, The New York Times and Wall Street Journal said, citing unnamed sources close to the company.

The Blackstone Group, another private equity fund, kicked off the bidding with the Times reporting that it offered $6 billion.

Intelsat has hired Credit Suisse to seek other potential buyers in a process that was expected to take at least two months, the Times added.

The current owners of Intelsat, which has a debt load of $11 billion, are Madison Dearborn Partners, Apax Partners, Permira and Apollo Management. The company, which runs the world's largest network of communications satellites, is based in Bermuda but managed from Washington.

Shortly after its 2004 sale to the equity funds, the company paid a special dividend of $350 million financed through debt. A year later, it took over its rival PanAmSat for $3.2 billion.

Intelsat refused to comment on the potential sale.

It operates more than 50 satellites and last year reported revenues of $1.7 billion but also a net loss of 368.7 million dollars because of restructuring costs from the PanAmSat purchase and an anomaly in one of its satellites. 

DPA | April 17, 2007

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