New Skies Satellites became the second private equity-owned satellite operator to launch an initial public offering (IPO) this year as the company, owned by The Blackstone Group, issued 11.9 million shares of common stock May 10, priced at $16.50 per share.

On its first day of trading, the stock faired stronger than Panamsat’s, which went pubic in March. New Skies opened at $16.60 and reached as high as $16.97 before settling at $16.58. The stock’s trading day low never dipped below the IPO price. Panamsat’s stock opened at $17.50 on its March 17 IPO day and its closing price bottomed out at $16.98 on April 5. Last week the stock closed above its IPO price for the first time on May 3. Panamsat has remained above $18 since.

For more on the New Skies IPO, please see the May 16 issue of Satellite News. For more information on subscribing to Access Intelligence’s satellite industry news and information products, please visit us on the Web at https://www.satellitetoday.com.