Australian nascent satellite operator NewSat has revealed that its Jabiru-2 satellite will actually be a venture with Measat’s bird Measat-3b.
The information was confirmed by the Malaysian operator, which explained that “under the terms of the…
Australian nascent satellite operator NewSat has revealed that its Jabiru-2 satellite will actually be a venture with Measat’s bird Measat-3b.
The information was confirmed by the Malaysian operator, which explained that “under the terms of the agreement, NewSat… will secure multiple Ku-band transponders on the Mesat-3b, over the life of the satellite. The capacity will be marketed by NewSat under the ‘Jabiru-2’ satellite name.”
Manufactured by Astrium and launched by Arianespace, Jabiru-2/Measat-3b will be placed at 91.5E at the end of 2013. It will join Measat-3 and Measat-3a, which are already operating from this orbital slot.
NewSat expects the satellite to “provide oil, gas, mining and government customers with business-grade internet, voice, data and video communications services.”
It will cover several south-east Asian countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor.
Financial details of this agreement were not revealed.
This deal comes just a couple of weeks after Measat secured US$180m worth of capacity on Jabiru-1, which is being built by Lockheed Martin and is scheduled to be launched by Arianespace in 2014.
NewSat explained: “The contract provides Measat with multiple transponders covering South Asia and South East Asia for the 15 year life of the Jabiru-1 satellite.”
Another recent example of a satellite sharing agreement is the one between AsiaSat and Thaicom.
In mid-December, the two companies agreed to provide services from a shared satellite, known as AsiaSat6/Thaicom7.
Launched in 2014, this shared satellite will allow Thailand to maintain its rights on 120E, which are due to expire in October 2012.
NewSat completes share placement
NewSat announced on 20 February that it has completed its announced share placement raising A$26m (US$27.8m).
The issue took the form of a one-for-four non-renounceable entitlement offer at 60 cents per share. E.L. & C. Baillieu was the lead manager and underwriter on the transaction.
In a statement, NewSat said: “The entitlement offer resulted in the underwriting of A$10m (US$10.7m) by E.L. & C. Baillieu, being fully subscribed without the need to place any shortfall with sub-underwriters.”
The company added that the investors in the A$26m financing were split between existing entitlement take-up and new institutions applying for shortfall shares
The new shares are expected to start trading on 24 February.
The proceeds of this offer will go towards financing Jabiru-1, which is expected to cost between A$380m (US$406m) and A$440m (US$470m).
Commenting on the transaction, NewSat founder and CEO Adrian Ballintine said: We are very pleased with the results of the offer, which provides sufficient capital to achieve our financial milestones. The take-up of the offer was strong given the particularly difficult current market conditions.”
