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To: djane who wrote (7691)	10/2/1999 2:21:00 AM
From: djane	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29987

Iridium May Get $300 Mln Investment From McCaw, People Say aol.com Bloomberg News Friday, October 1 1999 05:51 PM EDT Washington, Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Motorola Inc., the biggest shareholder of Iridium LLC, told creditors of the bankrupt satellite-telephone network that Craig McCaw may inject as much as $300 million into the company, said three Iridium creditors who requested anonymity. Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates also may invest an undetermined amount in Iridium, the creditors said. Gates and McCaw, a billionaire who started one of the first cellular-phone companies, are backers of satellite-phone network Teledesic LLC. Officials of Motorola told creditors of the possible investments at a meeting in New York City yesterday with executives of banks that lent $1.5 billion to Iridium, creditors said. Motorola executives said there's a 50 percent chance Gates and McCaw would invest after holding negotiations with the company since July, one of the creditors said. ``It makes sense and is bound to eventually happen,' C.E. Unterberg analyst William Kidd said. ``Iridium's troubles are likely to allow a strategic player to pick those assets at fire- sale prices.' Motorola didn't say how large a stake McCaw and Gates would get if they invest, the creditors said. The meeting was held to discuss a 60-day waiver of loan payments, they said. A spokesman for Eagle River Inc., which oversees McCaw's investments in communications companies, declined to comment. Microsoft declined to comment. Spokesmen for Washington, D.C.- based Iridium and Motorola declined to comment on what the companies said was speculation. Teledesic's Service Teledesic said Monday it's considering ways to have its service begin earlier than a 2004 expected start date. ``We are at the early stages of exploring a variety of opportunities,' Bellevue, Washington-based Teledesic spokesman Roger Nyhus said. ``We have not committed to pursue any particular opportunity at this point.' Schaumburg, Illinois-based Motorola, the biggest company that makes both semiconductors and cell phones, helped found Iridium to build a global satellite system that would provide cell-phone reception almost anywhere in the world. Consumers rejected the company's large, expensive phones, and after Iridium couldn't agree with creditors on a debt- repayment plan it filed for bankruptcy protection in August. Iridium's 14 percent notes due 2005 are being bid for at 11 cents on the dollar, down about 88 percent since February. Shares of Iridium World Communications Ltd., the publicly traded arm of Iridium LLC, are halted. They last traded at 3 1/16. BBG/Iridium-May-Get-$300-Mln-Investment-From-McC/ Any redistribution of Bloomberg content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Bloomberg L.P. Any reference to the material must be properly attributed to Bloomberg News. The information herein was obtained from sources which Bloomberg L.P. and its suppliers believe reliable, but they do not guarantee its accuracy. Neither the information, nor any opinion expressed, constitutes a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any securities or commodities. ¸ Copyright 1999 Bloomberg L.P. BLOOMBERG, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Financial Markets, Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg News Radio are trademarks, tradenames and service marks of Bloomberg L.P. Copyright ¸ 1999 America Online, Inc. All rights reserved. Legal Notices Try AOL Privacy Policy Comments or suggestions? Drop us a note.