PARIS — Satellite fleet operator Telesat and its owners have terminated talks with prospective buyers of the Canadian company after rejecting acquisition offers as unacceptable, Telesat and its majority shareholder, Loral Space and Communications, announced Aug. 4.
Ottawa-based Telesat, which is the world’s fourth-largest commercial satellite fleet operator by revenue, will focus on “additional alternatives for Telesat, including recapitalization transactions,” the companies said in separate statements.
New York-based Loral said it will now turn its attention to spinning off its Space Systems/Loral satellite manufacturing business, a project that was announced more than a year ago but was put on hold as Loral, Telesat and PSP Investments, a Canadian pension fund that has majority voting rights in Telesat but a minority equity stake, sought a buyer for all or part of the satellite operator.
Industry officials said private-equity companies and other satellite operators had expressed an interest in Telesat, which is profitable and growing. Two prospective bidders said they were put off by the high price — upward of $6 billion — demanded by Telesat’s owners.
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