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By Peter B. de Selding - August 5, 2010
PONTE VEDRA, Fla. — Satellite fleet operator Telesat on Aug. 5 said the recent change in Canada’s regulations governing telecommunications providers means Telesat is now eligible for purchase by a non-Canadian entity.
In a conference call with investors, Telesat Chief Executive Daniel S. Goldberg said the regulatory reform that took effect in July requires no further modification. Ottawa-based Telesat, he said, may now be purchased by any non-Canadian entity so long as the acquisition meets the “net benefit” criteria established by Industry Canada, the nation’s regulatory authority.
Goldberg said the law appears similar to rules established in the United States and applied by the Federal Communications Commission.
Telesat is the world’s fourth-largest fixed satellite services fleet operator. Canada’s PSP Investments, a pension fund, has a minority economic interest in the company but majority voting rights. New York-based Loral Space and Communications owns a 64 percent economic interest but only a 33.3 percent voting stake in the company, in keeping with former limits on foreign ownership of Canadian satellite operators.
With the regulatory restrictions now removed, Telesat is an eligible acquisition target. Satellite fleet operator SES of Luxembourg has suggested it may be interested, and industry officials have said Paris-based Eutelsat is also a potential buyer. SES and Eutelsat, both cash rich and with little debt, are respectively the world’s second- and third-largest fleet operators when measured by revenue.
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