[Satellite TODAY 02-27-10] EchoStar Satellite Services will acquire Satelites Mexicanos S.A. de C.V. (Satmex) for about $374 million, the companies announced Feb. 26.
     EchoStar and MVS Comunicaciones, EchoStar’s partner in DTH provider Dish Mexico, have formed a joint venture that will pay about $267 million in cash for all Satmex outstanding stock and up to $107 million in cash on Satmex’s balance sheet at closing, resulting in total cash of up to $374 million available for distribution to Satmex’s stakeholders. Satmex owns and operates three satellites and two satellite uplink facilities, which are all included as part of the transaction. In January, Satmex disclosed that the Satmex 5 satellite is suffering from propulsion problems that will cut the lifetime of the satellite short by more than a year.
     The deal is expected to close early in the third quarter but is contingent upon other closing conditions, including actions related to the construction of a replacement satellite for Satmex 5.
     "The Satmex acquisition provides us with a footprint over Mexico and South America and presents us the opportunity to serve a growing global demand for satellite services," Dean Olmstead, president of EchoStar Satellite Services, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corp., said in a statement. "We look forward to leveraging our satellite operations and uplink expertise in North America to expand our fixed satellite services throughout the Americas, including the delivery of satellite Internet to rural communities."