PARIS — Cash-strapped mobile satellite services provider Globalstar on Jan. 2 said a British Virgin Islands investment company will buy $30 million in newly issued Globalstar stock over 24 months, with Globalstar controlling the timing of the purchases to limit the dilution effect on current shareholders.
The commitment by Terrapin Opportunity LP gives Globalstar a badly needed injection of cash to fund its continuing operations in 2013, the year in which Globalstar is expected to return to full service with the launch of the final six of 24 second-generation satellites.
The six satellites are now at the Russian-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan being prepared for a February launch aboard a single Soyuz medium-lift rocket operated by the French-Russian joint venture company Starsem.
In a Jan. 2 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Covington, La.-based Globalstar said the agreement with Terrapin allows Globalstar to determine when, and how much, Globalstar common stock will be purchased under the agreement.
Globalstar listed a series of hypothetical price points for its stock, and said sales to Terrapin would be subject to specific caps at the different price levels. The purchases will be timed so that Terrapin’s total share of Globalstar voting shares will not exceed 9.9 percent.
Globalstar was delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange in December because its stock had slipped to below $1 per share for an extended period. Globalstar Chief Executive Jay Monroe said at the time that the company had elected not to proceed with a reverse stock split to maintain the dollar-per-share level. Globalstar stock now trades on the over-the-counter market.
“This facility provides us with funds to help finance our capital obligations over the next two years,” Monroe said in a statement announcing the Terrapin transaction. “The structure of this facility gives us flexibility and pricing control that we can use to manage the potential dilution of additional equity. On the basis of the past year’s revenue and profit growth and our execution on our long-term strategic plan, this financing demonstrates investors’ increased confidence in Globalstar as we continue with final preparations for our fourth launch of six new satellites in February.”
