SATTEL

The stock of Shin Satellite Corp. has yet to recover from the drop it took in the aftermath of the military coup in Thailand.

The exchange was closed Sept. 20, and the stock of the satellite operator fell more than 13 percent Sept. 21 and another 18 percent Sept. 22 in the wake of the coup, which ousted the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. While most of the Thai stock market has recovered its losses, Shin shares remain depressed because of the company’s relationship with Thaksin.

In January, Thaksin’s family sold its stake in Shin to a group of investors led by Singapore’s state-run Temasek Holdings Pte., Siam Commercial Bank Pcl (SCB) and a group of Thai investors for 73.3 billion Thai baht ($1.9 billion). The family did not pay tax on the deal, which helped spark the coup, according to reports from Bloomberg News.

The military has set up a commission to review all projects approved by Thaksin’s government throughout the past five years to look for possible corruption, and the panel is authorized to seize assets gained through abuse of authority, Bloomberg said.

In the 2006 second quarter, Shin lost 34 million Thai baht ($907,000) as revenues slipped nearly 10 percent from the first three months of the year due to declining revenues from the IPStar broadband satellite business, the company announced in August.

Thaicom satellite revenues of 634 million baht ($16.9 million) were down from the first quarter but up from 600 million baht ($16 million) in the 2005 second quarter, thanks to the contribution of the recently launched Thaicom 4 satellite.

DISH

Echostar Communications Corp. announced Sept. 28 plans to raise about $500 million through a debt offering by subsidiary Echostar DBS Corp.

The net proceeds of the debt securities offering are intended to be used to replace cash on hand that will be used by Echostar to redeem outstanding senior notes due in 2008.

GILT

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. announced Sept. 27 that York Capital Management has exercised its option to convert all of its $70.4 million loan, plus accrued interest of about $1 million, into 10.6 million shares of Gilat.

After the conversion, Gilat’s outstanding shares will increase from roughly 23.2 million to about 33.8 million shares. York will own 11.1 million shares, which includes about 500,000 shares purchased on the open market in May.

Following the conversion, Gilat will have reduced its total debt balance from $125 million at the end of September 2005 to approximately $46 million as of Sept. 27. As a result, Gilat’s shareholder equity will increase by $68.1 million.

"York’s decision to shift its position from a debt holder to a shareholder is a strong vote of confidence in Gilat and significantly strengthens Gilat’s balance sheet," Amiram Levinberg, Gilat’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

MNCP, SKYT

Motient Corp. and Skyterra Communications Inc. completed transactions designed to simplify the ownership and control of a pair of companies developing systems to provide Mobile Satellite Services, the companies announced Sept. 25.

Motient has acquired Terrestar Networks Inc. and will consolidate the ownership and control of Mobile Satellite Ventures LP (MSV) and its corporate general partner under Skyterra, Motient announced Sept. 25.

To complete the deal, announced in May, Motient issued 4.1 million shares of its common stock in exchange for 2.3 million shares of Terrestar common stock, and exchanged 10.3 million MSV LP units for 29.1 million shares of Skyterra common stock.

As a result, Motient now owns 61 percent of Terrestar, 45 percent of Skyterra and 17 percent of MSV. Skyterra now owns about 52 percent of the outstanding limited partnership interests of MSV and about 78 percent of the outstanding common stock of its general partner.

Motient’s ownership of Terrestar could increase to as much as 100 percent if other Terrestar stock and option holders exercise their tag-along rights. Motient also intends to dividend about 25.5 million shares of Skyterra stock to Motient stockholders and may share the remaining shares of Skyterra to raise funds to cover tax liabilities or for general corporate purposes.

"In pursuing this transaction, our primary objective has been to create a clear path to value for our stockholders," Raymond Steele, Motient’s chairman, said in a statement. "The separation of MSV and Terrestar into two independent, publicly traded entities will provide each company and our stockholders with the best path to unlock the current and future value of both businesses."

Skyterra may also acquire additional limited partnership interests in MSV from Motient, which would give Skyterra about 70 percent of the limited partnership interests of MSV. In connection with the transactions that closed today, Skyterra issued approximately 39.6 million shares of its common stock to the other former partners in the joint venture, including 25.5 million shares of non-voting common stock to Motient.

MSV and Terrestar are developing separate advanced mobile satellite communications systems. "As a result of this transaction, Terrestar will be better positioned to pursue the deployment of its integrated satellite and terrestrial-bsed communications networks, raise financing and engage in partnerships or other arrangements with potential strategic partners," Robert Brumley, president and CEO of Terrestar, said.

Alexander Good, vice chairman, CEO and president of MSV, said, "The completion of the transaction is very positive for MSV: streamlining its ownership structure, better positioning the company to pursue strategic opportunities and relationships, and improving its ability to access the capital markets."