The hiring of Daniel Goldberg as president and CEO of Telesat Canada has led to anticipation of an initial public offering (IPO) or private equity sale of the Canadian satellite operator, according to financial analysts familiar with Goldberg’s track record.

Telesat Canada announced on Sept. 11 that Goldberg, the former president and CEO of SES New Skies, was succeeding Larry Boisvert as head of Telesat Canada. Bosivert is retiring but will remain a consultant for Telesat after nearly 34 years with the Canadian satellite services provider.

Goldberg, a graduate of Harvard Law School, has been working in the communications sector for 15 years and in satellite operating companies since 1998, most recently at SES New Skies, which operates a global satellite communications network providing capacity and other services for the transmission of video, data, Internet and voice services to corporate and government entities.

During his tenure at SES New Skies, Goldberg led a team that took a start-up created through the partial privatization of an intergovernmental satellite system and built a global player in the competitive industry. He also helped launch two successful IPOs and concluded two private sales between 2000 and 2006. In March, SES Global completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of New Skies Satellites, creating the world’s second largest Fixed Satellite Services company.

Such action leaves financial analyst Armand Musey, a partner at Near Earth LLC in New York, bullish on the prospects of Goldberg’s stewardship.

Goldberg is "very well respected in the industry, particularly by investors," Musey said. "There’s speculation that he’s planning an IPO or selling to a private equity firm. If they’re going down that road, he’s very capable, and a very good person. If there’s a sale to a private equity shop or IPO, there’s going to be a lot of interest.

"The biggest thing you hear from personal equity investors is that he keeps them informed and on top of things," Musey said. "He communicates very well. His performance at New Skies was very strong at building revenue. It was quite a coup to get him. I think potential buyers will respond well."

Jan Sorhaug, an investment banker with RBC Capital Markets, says he has not met Goldberg but has been familiarizing himself since the announcement.

"He’s obviously a dynamic individual," Sorhaug said. "He’s familiar with the public process that they’re looking to do. He’s well-respected. I think it’s very positive and he’ll take [Telesat Canada] to the next step."

Telesat Canada is owned by Montreal-based BCE Inc. In the 2006 second quarter, Telesat Canada reported a profit of 43 million Canadian dollars ($38.5 million), compared to earnings of 26.3 million ($23.5 million) in the same period in 2005.

While industry analysts are optimistic about the future of Telesat Canada, they are less certain about the timetable for any action in the market.

"Every time I read something [about the company’s plan] it changes," Musey said. "My gut is that he’s looking at options until they have a strong deal. These things are very hard to predict unless you’re on the inside, and even then they don’t always work as you expect. Intelsat planned an IPO for three or four years; others happen faster than anyone expected. It’s almost impossible to predict."

With news of Goldberg’s hire, shares of BCE rose more than 9 percent Sept. 11, or 2.47 Canadian dollars to 29.82 ($26.73) on the Toronto Stock Exchange. As end-of-the-week trading opened Sept. 15, the stock was going for 29.70 Canadian dollars ($26.62).

"BCE publicly stated that they’ll undertake an IPO in the second half of 2006, so it’s already proceeding and you’ll likely see that fairly soon," Sorhaug said. "… As you can imagine, we’ll stay tuned and see what happens."

–J.J. McCoy