Copying and distributing are prohibited without permission of the publisher
Satellite financing at a higher level
04 October 2011
Satellite network operators and conventional mobile telecoms operators have turned to export finance in a big way in recent years as both developed and developing markets invest heavily in new networks. Graeme Burton reports.
Read more:
ECA satellite
Iridium NEXT
O3b Networks
Orbital
Lockheed Martin
Loral Space Systems
Boeing
Thales Alenia
Huawei CDB
When Iridium CFO Tom Fitzpatrick was weighing up the financing options for the satellite operator’s $3 billion ‘Iridium NEXT’ project the choice, in many respects, really was quite straightforward: either a Lockheed Martin proposal backed by The Export-Import Bank of the United States (US Ex-Im) or a Thales Alenia Space-led proposal backed by French export credit agency (ECA) Coface.
Corporate finance or issuing bonds barely figured in Fitzpatrick’s calculations because export finance offered a structure that fitted with the company’s cash flow, and at a competitive price too. “The financing options that were available from the ECAs were so much more attractive than the alternatives, so they were the ones that we selected. We didn’t have to go far down the path of considering corporate bonds and the other alternatives because the ECAs’ financing packages simply dominated,” says Fitzpatrick. They were, he adds, “head and shoulders” above the alternatives....
You must be logged in to view this page. If you are already a registered user please log in. Alternatively, you can request a free trial or subscribe.
Already have an account?
Subscribe
Subscribers have unlimited access to all current and archive content. Start your
subscription today - click on the button below.
Free trial
Taking a free trial will give you access to the latest news and analysis for two days
(excluding some surveys and articles). Start your free trial today.
