Intelsat, Ltd announced today that it has been informed that the United States Department of Justice is closing its anti-trust investigation of Intelsat`s proposed merger with PanAmSat Holding Corporation.
The justice department is not seeking any conditions on the proposed merger and is not otherwise commenting on it. The transaction remains under review by the US Federal Communications Commission.
"We are gratified that the justice department`s Anti-trust Division, after a comprehensive review, agreed with us that the Intelsat-PanAmSat merger does not pose any threat to competition," said Phillip Spector, Executive Vice-President and General Counsel of Intelsat. "We demonstrated that the combination of Intelsat and PanAmSat will create powerful efficiencies, with complementary fleets assuring enhanced protection and flexibility for our diverse sets of customers."
The Chief Executive Officer of Intelsat, David McGlade, said: "With the justice department`s decision not to challenge our transaction, we are moving full speed ahead with our integration planning and preparations. We will be finalising our financing over the next few weeks, and should be in a position to close soon after receiving FCC approval. The new Intelsat post-merger will be one, fully-integrated, world-class provider of advanced communications solutions, with an employee team focused on customer service and technical excellence."
Intelsat and PanAmSat announced their merger agreement on 29 August 2005. Under the agreement, Intelsat will 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. Closing of the transaction is subject, among other things, to the receipt of financing by Intelsat and to obtaining regulatory approval from the FCC. All other regulatory approvals required prior to closing have been obtained.
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Intelsat is a global communications provider offering flexible and secure services to customers in over 200 countries and territories. Intelsat has maintained a leadership position for over 40 years by distributing video, voice and data for television and content providers, government and military entities, major corporations, telecommunications carriers, and Internet service providers. Intelsat`s reach, power and expanding solutions portfolio deliver information reliably and quickly to every corner of the globe. For more information about Intelsat, visit www.intelsat.com.
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