FCC Approves PanAmSat Sale
By Staff Writer | August 12, 2004
The Federal Communications Commission gave the nod to the sale of PanAmSat Corp. [SPOT] to affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., The Carlyle Group and Providence Equity Partners Inc. Regulatory approval was the last hurdle that needed to be cleared for the transaction to close.
The purchase price, payable to majority owners The DirecTV Group [DTV], also was reduced by $200 million to approximately $2.6 billion, which captures the effects of the recent xenon ion propulsion system failure of the Galaxy 10R satellite. The last hurdle that needs to be cleared before the deal is done is approval by DirecTV shareholders, which is expected at the company’s annual meeting tomorrow.