Integrated satellite and terrestrial network operator Intelsat S.A., has achieved the support of key creditor groups across the capital structure on the terms of a comprehensive financial restructuring that would reduce the Company’s debt by more than half - from nearly US$15-billion to US$7-billion - and position the company for long-term success.

In May 2020 the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US.

ITWeb reported that this protection involves the reorganisation of a debtor's business affairs, debts and assets. According to the regulations, businesses generally file for Chapter 11 if they require time to restructure their debts.

This protection version of bankruptcy reportedly gives the debtor a fresh start. However, the terms are subject to the debtor's fulfillment of obligations under the plan of reorganisation.

ITWeb referenced a Reuters report which stated that the company’s listed assets and liabilities are in the range of US$10-billion to US$50-billion, according to a filing in the US.

The Company has now filed an Amended Plan of Reorganisation in its Chapter 11 proceedings pending before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, accompanied by an explanatory Disclosure Statement.

According to a statement released to the media, the Amended Plan has the support of holders of approximately US$11-billion, or nearly 75%, of the Company’s funded debt.

These supporting creditors have executed a Plan Support Agreement that binds their support for the Company’s Amended Plan.

The Company is seeking Court approval of the Disclosure Statement and to establish procedures to solicit votes on the Amended Plan at a hearing scheduled for September 1, 2021.

“Today’s filings and the widespread consensus in support of the Amended Plan help to achieve completion of the financial restructuring process and the Company’s emergence from Chapter 11 by the end of 2021. The Amended Plan provides that Intelsat will emerge as a private company, with the support of new equity owners, to best advance its strategic objectives and accelerate its growth trajectory, with a path to becoming publicly traded again at some point in the next five years,” the statement reads.

Over the course of the financial restructuring process, Intelsat has advanced on a number of technological innovations.

The company said it is leveraging “its unparalleled global orbital and spectrum rights, scale, and partnerships to build the world’s first global 5G satellite-based, software-defined, unified network of networks. The Intelsat network will be capable of supporting virtually any access technology, enabling the next generation of global mobility, IOT, and 5G services with never-before-seen simplicity, coverage, economics, and performance.”