[Satellite Today 06-03-09] Telesat Canada signed an agreement to relinquish its leasehold interest and customer contracts for the Telstar 10 satellite to owner APT Satellite Co. Ltd., Telesat announced June 1.
     The satellite, placed in orbit in 1997, provided C-band coverage of Asia, Japan, Australia, and parts of Europe and Africa, and Ku-band coverage focusing on China and Korea. The leasing agreement had been struck between APT and Loral Skynet. For the first quarter of 2009, Telstar 10 accounted for about 5 percent of Telesat’s revenue and less than 1 percent of its $5.3 billion backlog.
    “Given APT’s deep involvement with Telstar 10, the complex regulatory environment associated with the satellite and the upcoming requirement to replace Telstar 10, this transaction makes strong strategic sense for both parties and ensures that the users of Telstar 10 will continue to receive high quality satellite services for the life of the satellite and its replacement,” Dan Goldberg, President and CEO of Telesat, said in a statement.
    The agreement, valued at about $69.5 million, is expected to be completed in July, and Telesat will use the proceeds to fund replacement satellites or repay debt, the company said. As announced previously, Telesat remains in discussions regarding the potential sale of its interests in another of its international satellites.