PanAmSat's pager debacle hurts its reputation, not bottom line

Article Abstract:

PanAmSat lost some prestige and stock price following the failure of its Galaxy IV satellite that inconvenienced 90% of the 40 million to 45 million US pagers. The disruption could strengthen PanAmSat's future bottom line by replacing current satellite contracts with more lucrative terms, according to the company and some industry officials. Industry officials, analysts and telecommunications lawyers do not expect PanAmSat to face significant financial penalties. The company refused to project its short-term revenue loss from the service disruption, but TD Securities said it would amount to less than $10 million from an estimated $952.7 million revenue for 1998. Paging Network, which suffered heavy disruption, said paging probably will not develop many backups because the industry uses satellites instead of other methods to keep costs low. Costs could be increased by redundancy measures.

Accidents, PanAmSat Corp., SPOT, Company technology development

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Hughes to buy marketing partner USSB

Article Abstract:

Hughes Electronics Corp will acquire US Satellite Broadcasting (USSB) Co in a deal valued at $1.3 billion. Hughes intends to meld its DirecTV unit with USSB, aiming to offer one-stop shopping for premium movie broadcasts. Industry observers say DirecTV revenue could increase by as much as $900 million starting in the year 2000. At the same time, the unit will be well-positioned to grow, and cost savings of as much as $180 million are envisioned in the first year. Home Box Office, Showtime and other premium movie channels will be added to the 185 channels already shown on Hughes's DirecTV, bringing the total to 210.

Other Electrical Equipment and Component Manufacturing, Electronics, Electronic Components and Accessories, Mergers, acquisitions and divestments, Company acquisition/merger, Hughes Electronics Corp., GMH, United States Satellite Broadcasting Company Inc., USSB

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Lockheed Martin hopes Comsat will fuel bottom line

Article Abstract:

Lockheed Martin Corp. has made a bid for 49% of the outstanding stock of Comsat Corp. at $45.50 per share which is about $1.3 billion dollars. The deal will have to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission. The two-step acquisition process proposed by Lockheed will have to circumvent an existing law which prohibits private ownership of more than 10% of the satelite company.

Company Planning/Goals, Lockheed Martin Corp., Communications Satellite Corp., Article

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