Intelsat, Ltd. today announced that it has completed its acquisition of the North American satellites and related customer contracts of Loral Space & Communications Corporation. The $961.1 million purchase enhances Intelsat's global market position by adding full coverage of North America to the Intelsat fleet and expanding its customer base in the broadcasting, cable television and corporate networking segments.

Upon the closing, Intelsat paid $961.1 million in cash for the assets acquired under the purchase agreement with Loral. This price reflects performance-related and other adjustments to the $1.025 billion base purchase price set forth in the asset purchase agreement. In connection with the closing, and related to the failure last year of the Telstar 4 satellite, Intelsat was assigned Loral's rights to receive insurance proceeds (net of currently expected warranty payments) of up to $140 million, which would further reduce the total consideration for these assets.

"The addition of the Loral assets fulfills key strategic priorities for building our business," said Conny Kullman, Chief Executive Officer of Intelsat. "These satellites enhance our worldwide network coverage and immediately establish us as a serious competitor in the North American video market."

Mr. Kullman continued, "Our focus now is on providing a seamless and efficient transition for all Loral customers that we have acquired. These assets are an excellent fit with our existing network, and we expect the transition to move smoothly. With this acquisition complete, Intelsat is now able to provide reliable, one-stop shopping for broadcasters or other companies needing to connect from or to almost any point on Earth."

In addition to adding prime North American coverage to the Intelsat fleet, the assets add important Ku-band capacity to serve Latin America, further enhancing Intelsat's global, end-to-end satellite and land-based network.

The four in-orbit satellites and one satellite under construction that Intelsat has acquired have been renamed as noted below, with the orbital designation to remain in degrees West. Intelsat has also acquired rights to use the 77ºW orbital location.

Location:  New Name:                  Old Name:
 
97 W   Intelsat Americas 5 or IA-5    Telstar 5
93 W   Intelsat Americas 6 or IA-6    Telstar 6
129 W  Intelsat Americas 7 or IA-7    Telstar 7
121 W  Intelsat Americas 13 or IA-13  Telstar 13

To be launched in the third quarter of 2004:
89 W   Intelsat Americas 8 or IA-8    Telstar 8

Communications operations and customer support will now be managed by Intelsat, with support from Loral for a six-month transition period. Command and control of the Intelsat Americas satellites will be transitioned to Intelsat's satellite control center over the next 12 to 18 months.

About Intelsat
Building on 40 Years of Leadership. As a global communications leader with 40 years of experience, Intelsat helps service providers, broadcasters, corporations and governments deliver information and entertainment anywhere in the world, instantly, securely and reliably. Intelsat's global reach and expanding solutions portfolio enable customers to enhance their communications networks, venture into new markets and grow their businesses with confidence.