spacetoday.net: Intelsat accepts buyout bid

Posted: Mon, Aug 16, 2004, 5:35 PM ET (2135 GMT)
Intelsat, the world's second-largest satellite operator, announced Monday that it has accepted a buyout offer with a total value of $5 billion from a quartet of private equity firms. The company said it has agreed to an acquisition by Zeus Holdings, a holding company created by equity firms Apax Partners, Apollo Management, Madison Dearborn Partners, and Permira. Zeus will pay $18.75/share for Intelsat and will also assume $2 billion in debt, for a total value of approximately $5 billion. Intelsat officials said they believe the deal could close as soon as the end of 2004, pending approval by at least 60% of the company's existing shareholders as well as regulatory clearances. The Wall Street Journal reported in Monday morning's edition that the deal was imminent, with the Zeus partnership beating out rival offers from KKR and Blackstone. KKR had acquired PanAmSat earlier this year while Blackstone has agreed to acquire New Skies Satellites. Apax and Permira previously teamed to acquire Inmarsat. According to Reuters, the Zeus partners plan to eventually sell or merge Intelsat with another satellite operator, such as PanAmSat or Eutelsat.