A group of Intelsat SA equity holders will make its case on Wednesday for the appointment of an independent examiner to investigate potential areas of value that it says the bankrupt satellite operator has overlooked, Reuters reported. Intelsat, which is about six weeks away from a hearing on its proposed reorganization plan, says the request is a last-ditch attempt to gain some leverage by equity holders who are expected to see little to nothing under the plan. The equity group, on the other hand, says Intelsat has completely ignored valuable net operating losses and potential causes of action that it believes could provide some recoveries to shareholders. The satellite operator filed for bankruptcy in Virginia in May 2020, saying it needed to restructure as it prepared to transfer some of its so-called C-band spectrum to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, which planned to use the spectrum to build out a 5G network. In exchange, Intelsat is receiving about $4.9 billion from the FCC. The equity group, which represents retail holders of about 2% of Intelsat’s equity, says the restructuring has been designed for the benefit of Intelsat affiliates at the expense of the ultimate parent company whose shares they hold. An examiner is necessary to probe the full value of the company’s assets because it has so far been “ignored or devalued without explanation” in the plan, the group said in court papers. Institutional shareholders, including Cyrus Capital Partners and Appaloosa, are not part of the group seeking an examiner. Under the proposed plan, Intelsat’s debt stack would be cut from $15 billion to about $7 billion. A hearing on the plan, which has the support of about 75% of the company's debt holders, is set for Nov. 8 before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips.
