US satellite broadband start-up LightSquared has raised a US$850m four-year credit facility from UBS. Announcing the financing, which is non-callable in the first year, the company said it would use the proceeds for general corporate purposes including…
US satellite broadband start-up LightSquared has raised a US$850m four-year credit facility from UBS. Announcing the financing, which is non-callable in the first year, the company said it would use the proceeds for general corporate purposes including the construction of its LTE wholesale network. This brings LightSquared’s total equity, debt proceeds and commitments to over US$2bn.
A spokesperson for LightSquared was not available for comment on the terms of the facility by press time.
Sanjiv Ahuja, chairman and CEO welcomed the “significant” financing, which “endorses our overall business model, while providing LightSquared with a solid step forward to execute our strategy and begin building out our 4G-LTE-wholesale network.”
BoA Merrill Lynch and UBS have been advising LightSquared on its financing options, while Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP; Weil, Gotshal & Manges and Goldberg, Godles, Wiener & Wright are providing legal advice. Boutique management consulting group Altman Vilandrie & Company has also provided advice.
Wholesale deals
Separately, LightSquared also announced the signing of its first wholesale agreements, saying that it has reached advanced talks with an unspecified number of potential customers.
A spokesperson was unavailable to comment on the agreements by press time.
As such, it intends to bring forward the implementation of Phase 2 of a spectrum access agreement with UK satellite firm Inmarsat Cooperation Agreement to Q4 of this year. This means it will need to start paying Inmarsat annual spectrum lease payments, the first of which be due upon the formal delivery of notice.
Ahuja noted, “By accelerating Phase 2 of the Inmarsat Cooperation Agreement, we will be able to utilize and deploy additional spectrum earlier than anticipated, further enhancing the capacity of LightSquared’s 4G-LTE-wholesale network.”
