spacetoday.net: Lockheed dumps stake in Loral

Posted: Fri, Aug 8, 2003, 8:25 AM ET (1225 GMT)
Lockheed Martin has sold its 10-percent stake in satellite operator Loral Space and Communications, losing more than $300 million in the process, the Washington Post reported Friday. Lockheed had purchased its stake in Loral in 1996 for $344 million, but saw that investment dwindle to virtually nothing as Loral's stock plummeted and the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. Lockheed sold its share for just $750,000. Lockheed had taken a $361 million charge against earnings in 2001 to write off its Loral investment. The two companies are also in a dispute over a $40 million deposit that Loral paid Lockheed for a launch that never took place. Lockheed made the disclosures in a 10-Q SEC filing yesterday. In that filing, Lockheed also reported that it is attempting to sell its stake in Lockheed Martin Intersputnik, a venture that operates a single communications satellite.