- PanAmSat
Infobox_Company
company_name = PanAmSat (now owned byIntelsat )
company_
company_type =Satellite communication
foundation =1984
location =Washington, D.C. flag|USA
key_people =
industry =Satellite communication
homepage = [http://www.intelsat.com/ www.intelsat.com]The former PanAmSat Corporation founded in
1984 by Reynold (Rene) Anselmo, was a satellite service provider headquartered inWilton, Connecticut . It operated a fleet ofcommunications satellite s used by theentertainment industry , news agencies,internet service provider s, government agencies, andtelecommunication companies.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 cite web | title=The 400 Richest Americans: #374 Mary Anselmo | date=2006-09-21 | publisher=Forbes.com | url=http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_Mary-Anselmo_NOKV.html] , his widowMary 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 May1997 , Hughes Communication Galaxy merged with PanAmSat, adding 9 more satellites to its fleet. In2003 ,News Corporation purchased Hughes Electronic's PanAmSat division and onApril 24 ,2004 sold PanAmSat to a consortium ofprivate equity firms in anleveraged buyout includingKohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR),Carlyle Group andProvidence Equity Partners for $4.3 billion.2004 leveraged buyout
KKR led the 2004 leveraged buyout by purchasing a 44% stake in the company. 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 consortiumdividend s. Three months later, PanAmSat filed aninitial 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 — calledIntelsat — is the world's largest commercial satellite company, with 53 spacecraft serving over 200 countries, with nearly 1400 employees. Global headquarters for the company is Washington, D.C. under the leadership of CEO David McGlade.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.External links
* [http://www.intelsat.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.space.com/news/space_news_100-1.html Space.com article]References
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