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Satellite operator Intelsat SA said yesterday that it filed for chapter 11 protection, Reuters reported. The company listed assets and liabilities in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion, according to a filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Intelsat also said that it had received $1 billion in debtor-in-possession financing. The company’s chapter 11 filing comes more than a month after it suspended its 2020 outlook and said it would delay filing its first-quarter results. Intelsat is among a number of companies that will participate in the accelerated clearing of C-band spectrum under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) order to support a build-out of 5G wireless infrastructure in the U.S. “To meet the FCC’s accelerated clearing deadlines and ultimately be eligible to receive $4.87 billion of accelerated relocation payments, Intelsat needs to spend more than $1 billion on clearing activities,” the Luxembourg-based company said in a statement. Intelsat General, which serves the company’s U.S. commercial, government and allied military customers, is not part of the chapter 11 proceedings, the company said.

Rural broadband provider Windstream Holdings Inc. is closer to exiting from chapter 11 under a proposal that would allow hedge-fund manager Elliott Management Corp. and other investors to buy the bulk of the company’s equity out of bankruptcy while wiping out most junior debt, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., said on Friday that he would approve Windstream’s settlement deal with Uniti Group Inc., over a lease dispute. Uniti is a Windstream spinoff whose broadband network is crucial to the telecom company’s operations. The settlement will add about $1.25 billion in net present value to the Windstream estate. Windstream’s unsecured creditors had opposed the settlement, saying that it leaves them out in the cold. In a court hearing held by phone, Judge Drain also said that he would approve a multi-month commitment by Windstream lenders to invest in the reorganized company as well as an updated version of the disclosure documents describing its chapter 11 plan, with some modifications. The judge’s rulings make way for a proposed restructuring of Windstream that would deliver all but a sliver of equity control to top lenders led by Elliott, the company’s largest creditor, while virtually wiping out roughly $1.1 billion in lower-ranking bonds. Windstream, of Little Rock, Ark., has the support of the majority of its creditors, those holding about $4.1 billion of its $5.5 billion total debt, a lawyer for the company said at the court hearing.

Speedcast International, a network services provider leasing capacity on more than 80 satellites, filed for chapter 11 yesterday, citing weakness in the cruise and oil markets, SpaceNews.com reported. The Australian company, which ended 2019 with $669 million in debt, said customer struggles, amplified by the coronavirus’ impact on the cruise sector, made it “impossible” to raise much-needed equity. Speedcast filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in hopes of completing its restructuring by the end of August. The company said  that it has up to $1 billion in assets and liabilities.  Speedcast said that it has obtained commitments for up to $90 million debtor-in-possession financing to support operations while it restructures. 

Ligado Networks LLC overcame powerful opposition to its proposed broadband network with some help from inside-the-Beltway figures close to President Donald Trump’s White House, Bloomberg News reported. As late as Friday, the Defense and Transportation departments said that they were “strongly opposed” to Ligado’s plan to use airwaves they feared would interfere with global positioning system navigation. The Democratic and Republican leaders of both armed services committees also called last week for rejecting Ligado’s plan. And in March, agencies including the departments of Interior, Commerce, Justice and Energy and Homeland Security all signed a letter opposing the company’s plan. But on Monday the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, led by a Trump-appointed chairman, Ajit Pai, reversed itself and signed off on the plan anyway, realizing a vision set out by hedge fund manager Philip Falcone a decade ago. The Reston, Va.-based company prevailed with a costly persuasion campaign overseen by a blue-chip roster of lobbyists and board members. Since emerging from bankruptcy in 2016, Ligado has spent about $7.9 million on lobbying, including more than $2.5 million during 2019, according to a Bloomberg News tally of congressional disclosures.

Frontier Communications Corp.’s senior lenders say the telecommunications company’s prearranged bankruptcy plan is a “fragile house of cards” that won’t stand up in court, the Wall Street Journal reported. One of the country’s largest telecommunications providers, Frontier filed for chapter 11 protection on Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, N.Y., after reaching a deal with three quarters of the investors that own nearly $11 billion worth of its unsecured debt. With four million customers and operations in 29 states, Frontier has been grappling with the debt it acquired as it expanded its business. Lawyers for lenders owed $5.7 billion yesterday took aim at Frontier’s proposal to borrow $460 million, a new loan that would be paid off before the lenders’ claims. Brian Hermann, lawyer for a group of senior lenders, said his clients think Frontier doesn’t need the money, given the more than $725 million in free cash available now and a sale of Pacific Northwest assets that will bring in about $1.3 billion. While it has backing from unsecured bondholders for its bankruptcy plan, Frontier failed to reach agreements with its senior and junior lenders, both of whom rank ahead of bondholders in the order of payment under bankruptcy law.

Frontier Communications Corp has filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S., the high-speed internet company said yesterday, as it restructures finances to cut down its borrowings by more than $10 billion, Reuters reported. The company, which warned on its ability to continue as a going concern last month, had been in discussions with some of its lenders and was also mulling restructuring options. Frontier said that it has entered an agreement with its bondholders and received $460 million in debtor-in-possession financing. The Norwalk, Connecticut-based company estimated its assets and liabilities both in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion, according to a filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

OneWeb, the satellite operator backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp., said that it has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy to pursue a sale of its business and has cut its workforce amid the coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reported. OneWeb is in negotiations for debtor-in-possession financing, which if acquired and approved by the court will support its ongoing business, the company said in a statement that did not mention how many jobs were being cut. The company also said it had been in talks for funding since the beginning of the year but the process had stalled due to the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The satellite operator estimated assets in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion and liabilities in the same range, according to a filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The firm has launched 74 satellites including 34 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in early February to provide high-speed internet access using satellite communications.

Frontier Communications Corp. will skip interest payments to bondholders, starting a 60-day countdown before they can declare a default and potentially force a bankruptcy, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The Norwalk, Conn.-based telecommunications company said that it would defer making payments due today on some of its unsecured notes and enter a 60-day grace period as it “continues constructive discussions with its bondholders regarding Frontier’s capital structure.” Frontier said that it has been evaluating its capital structure with the aim of reducing debt and interest expense. Frontier accumulated its massive debt load pursuing an aggressive acquisition campaign that made it a national player in providing phone and internet services. The company has struggled to maintain its customer base amid fierce competition from other communications service providers. Frontier’s $3.6 billion in unsecured bonds that come due in 2025 last traded at 38 cents on the dollar on Friday, down by almost ten points over the past month. A $1.6 billion second-lien bond maturing in 2026 changed hands at 93 cents Monday, down from 96.25 cents the prior week, according to MarketAxess.

Frontier Communications Corp. will forgo coupon payments due March 15 as it prepares to file for bankruptcy with a plan that cuts its debt and hands control of the company to existing creditors, according to people with knowledge of the plans, Bloomberg News reported. A Frontier bankruptcy would rank as one of the biggest telecom reorganizations since Worldcom Inc. in 2002. Frontier is holding discussions this week with prospective lenders to negotiate the terms of a debtor-in-possession loan. The telecom operator plans to file for bankruptcy after the coupon date although the situation is still somewhat fluid and subject to change. Skipping the bond payments will trigger a 30-day grace period. Frontier shares plunged as much as 22 percent on the news and its 8.5 percent notes due April 2020 fell 6 cents on the dollar to 42.5 cents. Its 8 percent notes dues April 2027 rose 2 cents on the dollar to 102.25 cents, reflecting investor optimism that they could get paid in the long term. Frontier has spent months in talks with advisers and creditors about possible solutions to addressing its $17.5 billion debt load, which has become a burden as customers move away from using land lines. The company relies heavily on copper and fiber-optic cabling to provide service. Bernie Han, the company’s new chief executive officer, has been under pressure to act before March 15, when more than $320 million of debt payments are due. Frontier previously signaled it was pursuing a mid-March filing as talks between creditor groups picked up. Frontier is getting advice from lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and investment bankers at Evercore Inc.

A group of Windstream Holdings Inc. creditors are planning to object to its proposed bankruptcy plan and settlement with Uniti Group Inc. because it unfairly benefits creditors including Elliott Management Corp., according to a letter filed in bankruptcy court, Bloomberg News reported. The settlement strips value from Windstream for the benefit of equity rights offering backstop parties, and was designed to give them additional benefits to secure their support for the bankruptcy plan, according to a lawyer for second-lien creditor Contrarian Capital Management LLC. The second-lien creditor group represented by Milbank LP intends to file a formal objection to the settlement and restructuring plan, according to the letter. The proposed bankruptcy plan isn’t fair to all Windstream creditors in part because the proposed Uniti stock sale in the settlement isn’t open to any participants beyond the backstop parties, according to the letter signed by James Millar at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. By selling Uniti shares at a substantial discount, it transfers at least $150 million of value to those creditors, resulting in a windfall of $527.4 million based on recent market prices. Both the settlement and restructuring plan announced by Windstream Monday are broadly opposed by creditors who are not signatories to the bankruptcy plan, according to the letter. The proposed settlement will give Windstream more than $700 million in cash and $1.75 billion in capital improvements, and Contrarian believes the second-lien and unsecured creditors have a claim to at least some of that value.