GSAT

Globalstar Inc. priced its initial public offering at $17 per share, the company announced Nov. 2.

The company has also added 1 million shares to the offering, bringing the total to 7.5 million shares. The stock has begun trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol GSA and closed at $17.52 on its first day of trding.

Globalstar intends to use the proceeds from the offering to fund in part the procurement and launch of its second-generation satellite constellation and related upgrades to its gateways and other ground facilities.

Alcatel Alenia Space signed an agreement to start work on Globalstar’s second-generation satellite constellation in October. The contract, expected to be finalized by Nov. 15, calls for 48 low-Earth-orbit satellites, weighing about 500 kilograms apiece, at an overall price tag of 7.7 million euros ($9.7 million).

ORBC

Orbcomm Inc. priced its initial public offering (IPO) of 9.2 million shares of common stock at $11 per share, the company announced Nov. 2. The offering was scaled back, as Orbcomm had announced in October plans to offer 11.2 million shares at a range of $12 to $14. The stock will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol ORBC.

SIRI, XMSR

Soundexchange, the non-profit organization that collects and distributes royalties from digital music services on behalf of artists and record labels, is seeking higher fees from Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, Soundexchange announced Oct. 30. "The essence of satellite radio is music," John Simson, executive director of Soundexchange, said in a statement. "Without music, XM and Sirius would not exist. We are asking simply that these companies recognize our substantial contribution to their business by paying a fair price to artists and record labels for their creativity and investment."

The current agreement between the satellite radio providers and Soundexchange expires at the end of 2006, and Soundexchange submitted a case to the Copyright Royalty Board seeking 10 percent of the revenues of Sirius and XM in the first year of a new six-year agreement, or $1.10 per subscriber. The rate would gradually increase throughout the six- year agreement, reaching 23 percent, or $2.75 per subscriber, by 2012.

"Our rate proposal establishes a revenue sharing system that bases payment to artists and record labels on the success of these services," Simson said. "If they do well, payments increase; if they are less successful, the artists and labels are paid less. There can be no better evidence that we view this relationship as a partnership, and ultimately want XM & Sirius to flourish, but we want what’s fair."

Analysts estimate that XM and Sirius pay 4 percent to 5 percent of their revenues under the existing agreement, and the companies have proposed a rate of 0.88 percent of gross subscription revenue for the next six years plus advertising revenues on the music channels. "The rate which the satellite radio providers seek in their submission is demeaning to artists and labels," Simson said. "When independent research shows music is the core of their business, and when they have the ability to pay $500 million to Howard Stern (and hundreds of millions to other non-music content providers), it is more than a stretch to regard their proposal as serious or fair. They clearly want to pay less than the true value of these works, forcing artists and copyright owners to subsidize their acquisition of other content."

The new agreement is expected to be finalized in the next 12 to 18 months, Soundexchange said.

VSAT

ViaSat Inc. posted record revenues of $131.5 million in its 2007 second quarter, up from revenues of $104.1 million in the same period a year ago, the company announced Nov. 2. ViaSat’s profits improved from $6 million to $6.5 million over the same period.

The government segment had revenues of $70 million in the 2007 second quarter, which closed Sept. 29, up 42 percent from the 2006 second quarter. ViaSat attributed the gains to growth in tactical data link products. The commercial segment posted revenues of $61.5 million, up 8 percent due to consumer broadband sales growth.

ViaSat captured contracts valued at $141.4 million, with the government segment accounting for $68.2 million and the commercial segment contributing $73.2 million.

"We are especially pleased with our earnings performance this quarter," Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of ViaSat, said in a statement. "We achieved our objectives without the previously expected approval of [research and development] tax-credit legislation. Overall business remains robust, our commercial business contributed to earnings, and we continue to see promising growth opportunities."

BCE

Satellite operator Telesat Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of BCE Inc., garnered revenues of 113.5 million Canadian dollars ($100.2) in the 2006 third quarter, up slightly from revenues of 112.2 million Canadian dollars ($99 million) in the 2005 third quarter, the company announced Nov. 1.

Telesat posted earnings of 19.8 million Canadian dollars ($17.5 million), down 22 percent from earnings of 25.3 million Canadian dollars ($22.3 million) in the same period a year ago. Telesat attributed the drop to higher operating and amortization expenses in the most recent quarter, which closed Sept. 30. Included in operating expenses are certain one-time charges to compensation resulting from executive changes in September.

TSX:MDA

MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. recorded a profit of 21 million Canadian dollars ($18.5 million) on revenues of 290 million Canadian dollars ($255.9 million) in the 2006 third quarter, the company announced Nov. 1. In the 2005 third quarter, the company earned 17 million Canadian dollars ($15 million) on revenues of 209 million Canadian dollars ($184.4 million). The information-systems business, which includes space operations, reported revenues of 94 million Canadian dollars ($83 million), up from 86 million ($75.9 million) a year ago.

ELMG, ANDW

EMS Technologies Inc. signed a definitive agreement to sell its EMS Wireless division to Andrew Corp. for 50.5 million Canadian dollars, EMS announced Nov. 1. The transactions are expected to close within 60 days.

EMS Wireless, formed in 1993 and headquartered in Norcross, Georgia. The division’s core product lines are base station antennas for mobile wireless and fixed wireless applications, and in-building and repeater solutions.

EMS plans to concentrate on its three core businesses, Defense & Space Systems, LXE, and EMS Satcom. "The strength of these businesses and the strong financial resources we will have available will enable us to fund internal [research and development] projects as well as to pursue market and strategic opportunities," Paul Domorski, president and CEO of EMS Technologies, said in a statement.

Apax

Apax Partners has completed the acquisition of France Telecom Mobile Satellite Communications (FTMSC) for 60 million euros, a deal announced in July.

Apax also recently announced its acquisition of Telenor Satellite Services, bolstering its status to become a key player in the mobile satellite communications market.

RTN

Raytheon Co. plans to withdraw its common stock from listing on NYSE Arca Inc., formerly known as the Pacific Exchange, and the Chicago Stock Exchange, in order to reduce regulatory and administrative burdens, Raytheon announced Oct. 27. Raytheon’s stock will remain on the New York Stock Exchange and also will continue to trade on an unlisted trading privilege basis on both the NYSE Arca and the Chicago Stock Exchange.

NDS

NDS, a supplier of middleware and conditional access services to direct-to-home operators, posted a 14 percent increase in revenues to $164 million in the third quarter, the company announced. Operating profits for the quarter, which closed Sept. 30, reached nearly $45 million, an increase of about 25 percent.