SkyTerra announces deal to privatize company
Satellite provider SkyTerra recently announced a definitive merger agreement in which the company would be acquired by a new corporation formed and owned by Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I and Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations Fund, resulting in the Harbinger group privately owning the satellite firm.
Under the terms of the agreement, the new corporation will pay $5 cash per share for SkyTerra stock, slightly less than 50% of which already is held by Harbinger and its associates. Pending formal shareholder and regulatory approvals, the deal is expected to be completed late this year or early in 2010.
For SkyTerra, the news does not alter the satellite provider’s plans, according to spokesman Tom Surface.
“It’s business as usual for us,” Surface said.
SkyTerra plans to launch its next-generation satellite in the fall of 2010, which is designed to enable the satellite provider’s customers to use satellite-enabled devices in smaller form factors that are comparable to cellular phones, Surface said.