Wireless venture Ligado Networks is in talks with its major creditors about a debt restructuring that would ease the way for a commercial deal to expand its satellite offerings, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Ligado is exploring ways to restructure its stack of debt and equity securities ahead of a roughly $4 billion bond maturity in November, these people said. While Ligado is expected to win broad support for a restructuring, it is considering a bankruptcy filing to implement settlement terms if creditors don’t agree unanimously. The company set the restructuring in motion aiming to allow for commercial deals involving its satellite service with a leaner balance sheet free of imminent debt obligations. Such deals include a possible joint venture to pool spectrum licenses with telecom companies including Viasat, which Ligado recently owed at least $350 million under a 2007 agreement signed with Inmarsat, a satellite operator acquired by Viasat earlier this year. Some of Ligado’s major creditors have been developing the broad strokes of a restructuring that would maintain the existing order of payment priority among lenders and shareholders of the company, while trimming some debt by turning it into preferred equity.
