Satellite Operator Intelsat Buying PanAmSat

Satellite operator Intelsat on Monday announced plans to buy rival and PanAmSat for $3.2 billion, in a deal that will create the worlds biggest fleet of commercial communications satellites.

Using a combined fleet of 53 satellites, the expanded Intelsat Inc. will cover more than 220 countries and territories, officials said.

“This is terrific news for both of our companies,” said Dave McGlade, CEO of Intelsat in Pembroke, Bermuda, who expects to keep his position after the merger. Joseph Wright, CEO of PanAmSat Holding Corp. in Wilton, Conn., is expected to become chairman of the board after the transaction closes.

“We will be bringing together the best of each company,” McGlade said.

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PanAmSat brings to the table a base of cable TV broadcasters; Intelsat historically has focused on Internet access for government customers and rural areas around the world where alternate options are not available.

The expanded company is expected to have annual revenues of more than $1.9 billion, officials said. The deal should close in six to 12 months, pending Federal approval.

The merger follows a 2001 deal in which SES Global S.A. of Luxembourg bought GE American Communications Inc. of Princeton, N.J., for $5 billion in cash and stock, creating a network of 28 satellites.

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