Key Trends for the Satellite Industry

摘要

In the early days of the satellite industry the investors were principally government telecommunication agencies (known in the industry as telcos) and, more marginally, the satellite manufacturers. Now, financial investors dominate the ownership ranks of the industry as a result of three periods of change in the shareholding structure of the satellite operators: 1. Privatization of the international government organizations 1.1 Eutelsat, Inmarsat and Intelsat 1.2 in 2000 and 2001, and the exit of most large telcos from the satellite business; 2. Leveraged buyout acquisitions of five large companies from 2003 to 2004: Inmarsat, Eutelsat, PanAmSat, Intelsat and New Skies Satellites. Fixed satellite services companies and mobile satellite services companies are attractive for buyout firms because they have predictable cash flows. 3. Initial public slock offerings (IPOs) in 2005 of PanAmSat, New Skies Satellites and Inmarsat, with Eutelsat expected soon. Proceeds of the IPOs will go to pay a dividend to the owners who used leveraged buyouts to acquire these companies, to pay down their debt and to pay for operations.