PanAmSat

PanAmSat (now owned by Intelsat)
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 Norm Leventhal, a 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. Anselmo financed the entire project himself and Leventhal's law firm, hiring Martin Rothblatt for special satellite technical advice, filed 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,[1] 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 archrival 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.[1]

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[2] WAAS payload

References

  1. 1 2 "The 400 Richest Americans: #374 Mary Anselmo". Forbes.com. September 21, 2006.
  2. ↑ "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 / 38.94167; -77.06361

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