Spacecom is on the verge of being sold to the Chinese-backed Luxembourg Space Telecommunications. But the $190 million purchase price is a third less than the $285 million originally agreed in August.
Since then the Israeli satellite firm suffered the catastrophic launchpad failure of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and with it the loss of Amos 6. This in turn led to a fall in the value of Spacecom’s stock price.
Luxembourg Space Telecommunications is owned by the Chinese communications company Beijing Xinwei Technology.
Spacecom, which is controlled by Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication, had been looking for a buyer for two years.
Last week, Spacecom signed a contract with AsiaSat to provide replacement capacity at 4 degrees West.
AsiaSat 8 will be co-located with Amos-3, for a four-year period. AsiaSat 8 will complement Amos-3 in offering a full range of communication services. Its beams will cover the Middle East, Central Eastern Europe and Africa.
