NEW YORK, NY — (Marketwire) — 03/28/12 — Loral Space & Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: LORL) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a special dividend of $13.60 per share for an aggregate dividend of up to $421 million. The dividend is payable on April 20, 2012 to holders of record of Loral voting and non-voting common stock as of April 10, 2012. As of March 27, 2012, there were outstanding 21,117,311 shares of Loral voting common stock and 9,505,673 shares of Loral non-voting stock.
Loral-s declaration of this special dividend is a direct result of Telesat-s completion today of a refinancing and recapitalization transaction which resulted in a dividend from Telesat to Loral. As part of the transaction, Telesat entered into a new credit agreement that replaced its existing credit agreement and increased its indebtedness by approximately $490 million. Commenting on Telesat-s refinancing, Michael B. Targoff, Chief Executive Officer of Loral, said: “I am particularly gratified that Telesat was able to raise approximately $2.5 billion of bank financing with an average annual interest rate of approximately 4.4%, another testament to the strength of the Telesat business.”
In addition, the Board of Directors and shareholders of Telesat approved payments to Telesat-s option holders and distributions to Telesat-s shareholders of CAD 705 million in the aggregate, of which a total of CAD 420 million will be paid to Loral. The distributions by Telesat to its shareholders were authorized to be paid in two tranches; the first tranche was paid by Telesat on March 28, 2012, the closing date of the transaction, with Loral receiving CAD 375 million, and the second tranche is planned for payment in the third quarter of 2012 with Loral to receive CAD 45 million. The dividend to be paid to Loral-s shareholders approximates the full amount of both dividend tranches to be received by Loral from Telesat. Pending receipt of the second tranche from Telesat, Loral will use its available cash balance to fund the difference between the Loral dividend being paid and the proceeds received from Telesat.
Regarding the dividend, Mr. Targoff said: “Our investment in Telesat has provided Loral with handsome book returns and growth since our acquisition. Receipt of this significant dividend from Telesat is a partial realization of this investment, and we are pleased to be able to share that with Loral-s shareholders.”
Loral Space & Communications is a satellite communications company. It is a world-class leader in the design and manufacture of satellites and satellite systems for commercial and government applications including fixed satellite services, direct-to-home television, broadband communications, wireless telephony, weather monitoring and air traffic management. Loral also owns 64 percent of Telesat Canada, a global operator of telecommunications and direct broadcast satellites used to distribute video entertainment programming, broadband data, and provide access to Internet services and other value-added communications services. For more information, visit Loral-s web site at . LORL-F
This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “believes,” “expects,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “project,” “intend” or “outlook” or other variations of these words or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. In addition, Loral Space & Communications Inc. or its representatives have made or may make forward-looking statements, orally or in writing, which may be included in, but are not limited to, various filings made from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and press releases or oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer of the company. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results as a result of certain risks and uncertainties which are described as “Risk Factors” and in the “Commitments and Contingencies” note to our financial statements in the current Form 10-K and in Loral-s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The reader is specifically referred to these documents, as well as the Company-s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to (1) risks associated with financial factors, including swings in the global financial markets, financial covenants in SS/L-s credit agreement, increases in interest rates and access to capital; (2) risks associated with satellite manufacturing, including competition, cyclicality of SS/L-s end-user markets, contractual risks, creditworthiness of customers, performance of suppliers and management of our factory and personnel; (3) risks associated with satellite services, including dependence on large customers, launch delays and failures, in-orbit failures and competition; (4) regulatory risks, such as the effect of U.S. export control and economic sanction laws; and (5) other risks, including litigation. The foregoing list of important factors is not exclusive. Furthermore, Loral operates in an industry sector where securities values may be volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond Loral-s control.
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