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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Globalstar Telecommunications Limited GSAT -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: djane who wrote (6731)	8/21/1999 1:08:00 PM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

Phillips Market Snapshot on I/G* satellitetoday.com Check out the latest charts and graphs depicting important satellite market data, forecasts and analyses. Feel free to suggest a Market Snapshot topic, or request Phillips? Custom Research services. August 23, 1999 Last week, Iridium LLC filed for bankruptcy-court protection. It came as no surprise to anyone familiar with the telecommunications industry-even to people who are not. In the aftermath the question is, what now? Last month, Iridium announced a restructuring plan in attempt to save the company from having to file for bankruptcy. In addition to slashing handset and service prices in half, the company cut its advertising budget dramatically. According to J. Armand Musey, from Banc of America Securities, the budget had been slashed to $12 million for 1999, down from $145 million one year ago. Unfortunately, the effort came a little too late. The international business traveler was Iridium?s target market. According to a report released by Leslie Taylor Associates titled "The Complete Book on Mobile Satellites: Systems, Services and Markets," Iridium predicted that 58 percent of their subscriber base would be international business travelers, totaling approximately 2.3 million by 2003. Almost a year after Iridium began its service, it has only 20,000 customers. Iridium still has hope for the project and has reported that services will continue as normal. Investors admit skepticism is beginning to mount and not only for the Iridium system. Wall Street investors are scrutinizing Globalstar, which is about to launch its service. Hopefully, Globalstar?s more diverse target subscriber market will help the company reach its subscriber goals. Copyright ¸ 1999 Phillips International, Inc.

To: djane who wrote (6731)	8/21/1999 1:54:00 PM
From: djane	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 29987

Iridium offers investors equity as repayment August 20, 1999 By Antony Bruno According to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission report filed last week, the recently bankrupt Iridium L.L.C. said it proposed offering bondholders and other creditors an equity stake in the company in lieu of cash. Iridium filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Aug. 13, after defaulting on $1.5 billion in loans. Under the financial restructuring plan, Iridium would pay its obligation to holders of $1.45 billion in bonds and other debt with a one-third equity stake in the company. Motorola Inc., Iridium?s largest investor at 18 percent, would receive another 12-percent equity stake in return for $500 million of unsecured debt. The downside of the plan is that the equity given creditors will dilute the equity stakes held by current investors. Exactly how much dilution will occur is not clear. Should the plan be approved, bondholders collectively would own about 33 percent of the company, and Motorola at least 12 percent. In the restructuring plan, Iridium asks current investors to contribute another $500 million to help pay for operations throughout the year. Should they concede, investors would find their equity interest rise. If they don?t contribute, their equity stake would remain diminished. Additionally, the plan calls for Motorola to defer to a later date $400 million in payments due toward the $2.8 billion, five-year vendor contract between the two companies. Iridium?s banks also are asked to defer the maturity of their loan to an unspecified date. At present, Iridium?s $800 million senior secured bank facility matures in 2000, and its $750 million loan guaranteed by Motorola matures in 2001. While parent company Motorola reportedly has approved the plan, bondholders continue to review it. Company spokeswoman Michelle Lyle said Iridium continues to hope the restructuring negotiations will be completed in less than a month. In the filing, Iridium stressed the plan was presented to creditors before it filed for bankruptcy, and that status may cause details of the plan to change. The exact nature of Iridium?s financial woes were somewhat revealed in another SEC filing, this time disclosing the company would not be able to file second-quarter earnings results on time. While exact figures were not forthcoming, Iridium said it expected the second-quarter net loss to be significantly more than the $1.07 billion combined net losses reported by its various business entities after the first quarter. At that time, Iridium World Communica-tions Ltd. listed a net loss of $60.4 million; Iridium L.L.C. a net loss of 507.1 million; and Iridium Operating L.L.C. a net loss of $505.3 million. Meanwhile, since the bankruptcy, Iridium?s gateway providers in Asia, the Middle East and the United States made assurances their respective businesses were in good financial shape. Iridium North America, in fact, claimed recent price cuts have spurred a 25-percent boost in subscribers in the last six weeks. Additionally, Iridium?s partners in Mexico have begun selling the service there, considered a potentially large market for the satellite phone service. The gateway providers own the physical ground stations used to link the satellite constellation with terrestrial networks. Iridium has yet to disclose the number of users on its system to date. Latest Issue Copyright 1999, all rights reserved. Please report problems to webmaster.rcr@inlet.com August 21, 1999 rcrnews.com