Intelsat, PA

Intelsat Ltd. and Panamsat have planned debt offerings in connection with Intelsat’s planned acquisition of Panamsat Holding Corp., the companies announced.

Intelsat will offer $1.9 billion in senior notes due 2013 and 2016, while Panamsat Holding will offer about $725 million of senior notes due 2016 and Panamsat Corp. intends to offer approximately $575 million of senior notes due 2016.

The net proceeds from these offerings will be used, together with cash on hand, to fund a portion of the merger.

Panamsat Holding has launched an offer to purchase and consent solicitation for any and all of its outstanding 10-3/8 percent senior discount notes due 2014. The aggregate principal amount at maturity of the notes is $416 million and the accreted amount of the notes at the tender offer expiration date of midnight EDT June 26 will be $296.6 million.

If the tender offer is consummated, Panamsat will not issue the senior notes, and Intelsat (Bermuda) Ltd. will issue an additional $1 billion of senior notes to fund the tender offer and consent payments, as well as the balance of the acquisition cost.

Intelsat in August announced plans to acquire Panamsat for $25 per share in cash, or $3.2 billion. In addition, approximately $3.2 billion in debt of Panamsat and its subsidiaries will remain outstanding or be refinanced. The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the deal without conditions, and the deal was approved by Panamsat shareholders in October and also has been approved by non-U.S. regulatory agencies and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The deal remains under investigation by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

"We will be finalizing our financing over the next few weeks, and should be in a position to close soon after receiving FCC approval," David McGlade, Intelsat’s CEO, said in a statement.

DTV

DirecTV Group Inc. has agreed to purchase a total of 15 million shares of its common stock from a pair of General Motors pension trusts, DirecTV announced June 1. The $257.3 million deal, expected to be completed June 7, values the shares at $17.15 apiece.

In February, DirecTV Group repurchased 100 million shares of its common stock from the General Motors Special Hourly Employees Pension Trust, the General Motors Special Salaried Employees Pension Trust and a third group, paying $15.50 per share in a deal valued at about $1.6 billion.

Combined, DirecTV has repurchased approximately 160.1 million of its shares for an aggregate of approximately $2.6 billion out of its authorized $3 billion share repurchase program.

DirecTV shares closed at $17.75 June 1, gaining nearly $4 since its 2006 low of $13.48 Feb. 2.

SPAB

Spacehab Inc. has regained its slot on the Nasdaq market after meeting the minimum $1 bid price, the company announced June 1. Pursuant to Nasdaq Marketplace Rules, the company was required to reach a closing bid price of at least $1 per share for ten consecutive trading days, which it completed May 24.

Spacehab provides payload processing services for commercial and government satellites at facilities in Florida and California and also supports NASA’s human spaceflight programs.