PanAmSat
| Telecommunications | |
| Industry | Satellite communication |
| Founded | 1984 (merged with Intelsat Corp. June 20, 2006) |
| Headquarters | Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Website | www.intelsat.com |
The former PanAmSat Corporation founded in 1984 by Reynold (Rene) Anselmo, was a satellite service provider headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. It operated a fleet of communications satellites used by the entertainment industry, news agencies, internet service providers, government agencies, and telecommunication companies. Anselmo got the idea for PanAmSat from Martine Rothblatt,[1] an independent communications lawyer in Washington, D.C., to whom he had turned to for advice regarding difficulties he was encountering in getting reasonably priced satellite transmission of his UHF-TV based Spanish International Network (SIN), with studios on 42nd Street in New York City. Rothblatt had written a business plan entitled PanAmSat for her MBA thesis at UCLA's Graduate School of Management and was seeking a financial backer. Anselmo partnered with Rothblatt on the PanAmSat project, with Anselmo providing financing and Rothblatt filing for approval from the Federal Communications Commission and lining up an initial satellite from RCA Astro-Electronics and a heavily discounted launch from Arianespace.
PanAmSat effectively broke the monopoly on international satellite communications which was held by Intelsat, an international treaty-based organization founded and owned by several countries including the United States. PanAmSat, led by Anselmo, successfully lobbied the United States Congress to permit it to operate globally, competing against Intelsat. PanAmSat (and Anselmo) became famous for full-page advertisements in the Wall Street Journal depicting Spot, the PanAmSat mascot, urinating on politicians' legs. The company's motto was "Truth and Technology Will Triumph Over Bullshit and Bureaucracy."
Following the death of Rene Anselmo in 1995,[2] his widow Mary Anselmo controlled the company for a time. PanAmSat was sold to Hughes Electronics, a division of General Motors, in a $3 billion cash and stock deal. The satellite operations continued to be under PanAmSat with Hughes being the majority shareholder. In May 1997, Hughes Communication Galaxy merged with PanAmSat, adding 9 more satellites to its fleet. In 2003, News Corporation purchased Hughes Electronic's PanAmSat division and on April 24, 2004 sold PanAmSat to a consortium of private equity firms in a leveraged buyout including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), Carlyle Group and Providence Equity Partners for $4.3 billion.
2004 leveraged buyout
KKR led the 2004 leveraged buyout by purchasing a 44% stake in the company by . Carlyle and Providence each invested 27% with management representing the remainder of the equity. The consortium invested only $550 million in equity, financing the remainder through bank loans and bonds. The transaction closed in August 2004. One month after the buyout, the company issued an additional $250 million in discount notes which were used to pay the consortium dividends. Three months later, PanAmSat filed an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In an ironic twist of fate, its private equity owners sold PanAmSat to its arch rival Intelsat in August 2005 for a total of $4.3 billion in a deal finally consummated in July 2006. At the time of its sale, PanAmSat was the world's leading carrier of TV channels. In combination with Intelsat (which had also gone private under private equity ownership in 2000), the new company — called Intelsat — is the world's largest commercial satellite company, with 53 spacecraft serving over 200 countries, with nearly 1400 employees.
In March 2007, Forbes magazine estimated the net worth of Rene Anselmo's widow, Mary Anselmo at $1 billion. Anselmo, 78, lives in Greenwich, Connecticut.[2]
Satellite Fleet
| Satellite | Manufacturer | Type | Launch Vehicle | Launch Date | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBS 1 | Hughes | HS 376 | Delta | Nov 1, 1980 | Retired Jan 1990 | |
| SBS 2 | Hughes | HS 376 | Delta | Sep 1, 1981 | Retired Sept 1996 | |
| SBS 3 | Hughes | HS 376 | Space Shuttle Columbia STS-5 | Nov 11, 1982 | Retired June 1995 | |
| Galaxy 1 | Hughes | HS 376 | Delta | Jun 1, 1983 | Retired Apr 1, 1994 | |
| Galaxy 2 | Hughes | HS 376 | Delta | Sep 1, 1983 | Retired May 1994 | |
| SBS 4 | Hughes | HS 376 | Space Shuttle Discovery STS-41-D | Aug 30, 1984 | Retired Aug 1999 | |
| Galaxy 3 | Hughes | HS 376 | Delta | Sep 1, 1984 | Retired Oct 1995 | |
| PAS 1 | General Electric | GE-3000 | Ariane 44LP | Jun 15, 1988 | Retired Feb 2001 | |
| SBS 5 | Hughes | HS 376 | Ariane 3 | Sep 1, 1988 | Retired Mar 2000 | |
| SBS 6 | Hughes | HS 393 | Ariane 44L | Oct 1, 1990 | Active | |
| Galaxy 6 | Hughes | HS 376 | Ariane 44L | Oct 12, 1990 | Retired Feb 2003 | |
| Galaxy 5 | Hughes | HS 376 | Atlas I | Mar 14, 1992 | Retired Jan 2005 | |
| Galaxy 1R | Hughes | HS 376 | Atlas I | 22-Aug-92 | Launch failure Aug 22, 1992 | Launch failure August 22, 1992 |
| Galaxy 7 | Hughes | HS 601 | Ariane 42P+ | Oct 27, 1992 | on orbit failure Nov 2000 | |
| Galaxy 4 | Hughes | HS 601 | Ariane 42P+ | Jun 1, 1993 | on orbit failure May 1998 | |
| Galaxy 1R | Hughes | HS 376 | Delta II (7925-8) | Feb 19, 1994 | Retired Mar 7, 2006 | |
| PAS 2 | Hughes | HS 601 | Ariane 44L | Jul 8, 1994 | Active Dec 2008 | |
| PAS 3 | Hughes | HS 601 | Ariane 42P | Dec 1, 1994 | Launch failure Dec 1, 1994 | Launch failure December 1, 1994 |
| PAS 4 | Hughes | HS 601 | Ariane 42L+ | Aug 3, 1995 | Active | |
| Galaxy 3R | Hughes | HS 601 | Atlas IIA | Dec 1, 1995 | on orbit failure Mar 2006 | |
| PAS 3R | Hughes | HS 601 | Ariane 44L | Jan 12, 1996 | Active | |
| Galaxy 9 | Hughes | HS 376 | Delta II (7925) | Jun 12, 1996 | Active | |
| PAS 6 | Space Systems Loral | FS 1300 | Ariane 44P | Aug 8, 1997 | on orbit failure Apr 2004 | |
| PAS 5 | Hughes | HS 601 HP | Proton-K | Aug 27, 1997 | Active | |
| Galaxy 8i | Hughes | HS 601 HP | Atlas IIAS | Dec 8, 1997 | Retired Oct 2002 | |
| Galaxy 10 | Hughes | HS 601 High Power | Delta III | Aug 26, 1998 | Launch failure Aug 26, 1998 | Launch failure August 26, 1998 |
| PAS 7 | Space Systems Loral | FS 1300 | Ariane 44LP | Sep 15, 1998 | Active | |
| PAS 8 | Space Systems Loral | FS 1300 | Proton-K | Nov 4, 1998 | Active | |
| PAS 6B | Hughes | HS 601 HP | Ariane 42L | Dec 21, 1998 | Active | |
| Galaxy 11 | Hughes | HS 702 | Ariane 44L | Dec 21, 1999 | Active | |
| Galaxy 10R | Hughes | HS 601 HP | Ariane 42L | Jan 24, 2000 | Retired May 2008 | |
| Galaxy 4R | Hughes | HS 601 HP | Ariane 42L | Apr 18, 2000 | Retired Jul 2006 | |
| PAS 9 | Hughes | HS 601 HP | Sea Launch Zenit-3SL | Jul 28, 2000 | Active | |
| PAS 12 | Space Systems Loral | FS-1300 | Ariane 44LP | Oct 29, 2000 | Active | |
| PAS 1R | Hughes | HS 702 | Ariane 5 G | Nov 15, 2000 | Active | |
| PAS 10 | Hughes | HS601 HP | Proton | May 15, 2001 | Active | |
| Galaxy 3C | Hughes | HS 702 | Sea Launch Zenit-3SL | Jun 15, 2002 | Active | |
| Galaxy 12 | Orbital Sciences Corp | Star-2 | Ariane 5 G | Apr 9, 2003 | Active | |
| Galaxy 13 | Hughes | HS 601 HP | Sea Launch Zenit-3SL | Oct 1, 2003 | Active | |
| Galaxy 14 | Orbital Sciences Corp | Star-2 | Soyuz-FG/Fregat | Aug 14, 2005 | Active | |
| Galaxy 15 | Orbital Sciences Corp | Star-2 | Ariane 5 GS | Oct 14, 2005 | on orbit failure of command system, later on recovered April 2010[3] | WAAS payload |
External links
References
- ↑ http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/signature-events/anderson-speaker-series/martine-rothblatt
- 1 2 "The 400 Richest Americans: #374 Mary Anselmo". Forbes.com. September 21, 2006.
- ↑ "Attempt to Shut Down Zombie Satellite Galaxy 15 Fails". SpaceX. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
Coordinates: 38°56′30″N 77°03′49″W / 38.94167°N 77.06361°W
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