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Lightsquared


merkhet

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Anyone been following this company since the bankruptcy and the recent AWS-3 auction?

 

From the WSJ:

 

The deal, reached Friday as a result of mediation with U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain, would give Mr. Ergen 60% of the new equity in the restructured LightSquared plus $1 billion in new junior debt. J.P. Morgan Chase Co. , one of LightSquared’s lenders, would receive a total of 31.9% of the equity and a seat on the board of directors in exchange for its debt and $189 million in funding. Other lenders would receive a smaller piece of equity and warrants to purchase common stock. The company would also raise between $750 million and $1 billion in fresh capital as part of the plan.

 

http://online.wsj.com/articles/dishs-ergen-to-control-lightsquared-in-newly-announced-deal-1415044754

 

Lightsquared has about 30Mhz of spectrum:

 

To mitigate those interference concerns, LightSquared in the fall of 2012 submitted to the FCC a request to combine the 5 MHz it uses for satellite service at 1670-1675 MHz with frequencies in the 1675-1680 MHz band, currently used by National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration weather balloons. The company would share the NOAA spectrum rather than gain exclusive rights to it. LightSquared would then agree not to deploy a terrestrial network in the 1545-55MHz downlink part of the L-Band.

 

According to Bloomberg, former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, who is now a visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute, testified that he believes 30 MHz of LightSquared's spectrum will be approved for use by the end of 2015, and an additional 10 MHz within seven years. LightSquared hired McDowell as a consultant for LightSquared on FCC issues.

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/lightsquared-could-get-fcc-approval-use-spectrum-year-end-witness-says/2014-03-20

 

At some point, the Lightsquared spectrum might have been worth $14 billion:

 

LightSquared controls 46 megaherz of spectrum theoretically available to 300 million customers in North America. At the current value of about $1 per megaherz pop that’s as much as $14 billion. Falcone figured as much when he sank $4 billion into LightSquared, including spending $1 billion on two Boeing 702HP satellites with 66-foot antennas that can provide cellular-like communications to lightweight handsets.

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2012/05/01/whats-falcones-3-billion-gamble-on-lightsquared-worth-now/

 

Does that mean the 30Mhz is therefore worth $9 billion? Is it worth even more given the pricing that's being thrown around in the AWS-3 auction?

 

Could be an interesting bankruptcy equity investment. Mostly what caught my interest was Charlie Ergen's investment in the company...

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