spacetoday.net: SatMex files for bankruptcy protection

Posted: Fri, Jul 1, 2005, 8:17 PM ET (0017 GMT)
Mexican satellite operator SatMex filed for bankruptcy protection in its home country on Thursday even as its creditors continued to pressure the company to make a similar filing in the US. SatMex filed a voluntary "concurso mercantil", a type of bankruptcy filings in Mexican courts, citing a burden of over $500 million in debt. SatMex operates two satellites in orbit and has a third, SatMex 6, awaiting launch on an Ariane pending funding. A group of US-based creditors criticized the filing, saying that SatMex should instead make a Chapter 11 filing in the US because both the debt and the creditors are American. The creditors want to provide interim financing to SatMex to permit the launch of SatMex 6, a provision permitted under Chapter 11 but may be more difficult under Mexican law. Creditors are concerned that SatMex's on-orbit satellites are aging, making it difficult for SatMex to attract customers and revenue.