LORL

Loral Space & Communications Inc. will sell $300 million of stock to its largest shareholder, MHR Fund Management LLC, Loral announced Oct. 17. The proceeds, combined with existing resources, will be used to pursue internal and external growth opportunities, including transactions or alliances.

MHR will purchase $41 million and $259 million of new Loral Space & Communications Inc. 7.5 percent Series A and Series B convertible perpetual preferred stock, respectively. Each such share of preferred stock is convertible into 10 shares of Loral Space & Communications Inc. common stock or Class B common stock, each at an initial conversion price of $30.15 per share of common stock. This price reflects a premium of 12 percent to the closing price of Loral’s shares of common stock Oct. 16.

"This financing significantly expands Loral’s equity base and greatly enhances Loral’s ability to grow its business and take advantage of emerging opportunities in both the satellite services and satellite manufacturing markets," Michael Targoff, Loral’s CEO, said in a statement. "An equity investment of this size is an extraordinary achievement for Loral and it strengthens our ability to play an enhanced role in the satellite industry. We are grateful for MHR’s confidence and support and for the efforts of the special committee."

Under the agreement, MHR also will have the right to nominate one new member to Loral’s board. The transaction is subject to closing conditions, including approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvement Act.

SESG

The Court of Appeal of Dusseldorf, Germany, confirmed SES Astra’s acquisition of TV playout Center Astra Platform Services (APS), rejecting a complaint filed by satellite operator Eutelsat, SES Astra announced Oct. 18.

SES Astra reached an agreement with Germany’s Premiere in June 2004 to acquire APS, which provides broadcasting and encryption services for TV channels, and the Cartel Office approved the deal in December 2004. Eutelsat filed its complaint in early 2005.

"We are very satisfied that the court agrees with the arguments of the Cartel Office", Ferdinand Kayser, president and CEO of SES Astra, said in a statement. "This court decision confirms the acquisition of APS by SES Astra. We will continue to grow APS as a neutral service provider for broadcasters and service suppliers."

Datapath To Acquire ILC

Datapath Inc., a provider of satellite and wireless communications networks, announced Oct. 18 a definitive agreement to acquire all of the stock of ILC for $21 million in cash. The deal is intended to support Datapath’s strategy to expand its software solutions.

ILC, based in Atlanta, is a privately held provider of network management software for monitoring, controlling and automating hybrid communications networks. The company’s Maxview software performs end-to-end provisioning, event scheduling and activation, self-healing automation, simplified new device integration, alarm correlation, carrier monitoring, trouble ticketing, spectrum planning and tailored reporting. More than 600 Maxview systems have been deployed around the globe.

ILC generated revenues of $12 million in 2005, and the company’s customers include DirecTV, Loral Skynet, NBC and PBS as well as the U.S Army, Navy and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Datapath plans to operate ILC as a wholly owned subsidiary. ILC’s 70 employees will be integrated with Datapath’s software business unit in Duluth, Ga. The transaction is anticipated to close within 45 days, Datapath said.

TAT

Tandberg Television delivered revenues of $80.7 million in the third quarter of 2006, up 9 percent compared to its $74.4 million revenue in the same period of 2005, the company announced Oct. 18.

Gross margin was 58.2 percent in the most recent quarter, up from 56 percent in the 2005 third quarter. Operating profit was $9.2 million in the 2006 third quarter, down from $15.1 million a year ago.

CMI

C-Com Satellite Systems Inc. Oct. 17 announced revenues of $1.9 million for the quarter ending Aug. 31 and a net income of $207,000. In the same period a year ago, the company posted revenues of $1.5 million and a profit of $86,000.

C-Com credited the increased sales to demand for its auto-deploying antenna, dubbed Inetvu, that provides high-speed satellite-based Internet services to vehicles.

"We expect to sign up a number of new Inetvu Mobile customers in our last quarter of the fiscal year and are looking forward to another profitable year," Leslie Klein, president and CEO of C-Com, said in a statement. "… "In the forthcoming quarters we will see a number of new Inetvu Mobile products released, which will be adapted to work with new satellite service providers. These new products will open up new markets and generate incremental sales for the company."