spacetoday.net: MDA to buy Space Systems/Loral

Posted: Wed, Jun 27, 2012, 7:38 AM ET (1138 GMT)
SS/Loral 1300 satellite illustration (SS/Loral)

Canadian space company MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) will buy the satellite manufacturing arm of Loral in a billion-dollar deal, the company announced late Tuesday night. MDA will pay $775 million in cash for the equity of Space Systems/Loral (SS/L), plus $101 million in a promissory note SS/L real estate. SS/L will provide Loral with an estimated $135 million in cash dividends and other payments. The sale is expected to close later this year. MDA described the deal as "game changing" for the Canadian company, placing it among the leading satellite manufacturers worldwide. SS/L, based in Palo Alto, California, is best known as a major supplier of commercial communications satellites.