spacetoday.net: Discounted PanAmSat sale wins FCC approval

Posted: Fri, Aug 13, 2004, 10:36 AM ET (1436 GMT)
The DirecTV Group announced Thursday that the sale of its majority stake in satellite operator PanAmSat has been approved by the FCC. The approval, granted August 11, is the final regulatory hurdle in the sale of the company to a group of private equity firms led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. PanAmSat shareholders are expected to approve the sale during a shareholders' meeting Friday, with the deal to close next week. PanAmSat also announced Thursday that the price of the transaction dropped by $200 million from the original $3.55 billion. The reduction is to compensate for the failure in the ion propulsion system of one PanAmSat satellite, Galaxy 10R, announced last week. Replacing that satellite, which only has enough backup chemical propellant to last three more years, is expected to cost under $200 million.