Auction For Loral’s North American Assets Set To Start Monday

An auction is scheduled for Monday to determine whether Intelsat or EchoStar Communications [Nasdaq: DISH] will be allowed to buy the North American satellite assets of bankrupt Loral Space and Communications [OTC: LRLSQ].

The auction was triggered Oct. 15 when EchoStar submitted a bid of $1.029 billion for Loral’s six North American satellites and orbital slots. Intelsat previously had offered to buy those assets for $1 billion.

“We knew the potential existed for an auction,” said Dianne VanBeber, Intelsat’s vice president of investor relations. “Now we are prepared to move forward with the process.” Neither EchoStar nor Intelsat officials would comment on their auction-bidding strategy.

For more on Loral’s bankruptcy proceedings, see the Oct. 20 issue of SATELLITE NEWS. For info on subscribing to PBI Media’s newsletters, check out our Web site at https://www.satellitetoday.com.