Intelsat to raise $472 million in public offering

Satellite operator Intelsat SA says it expects to raise around $471.7 million from an initial public offering

It has set the price for 19.3 million common shares at $18 and three million preferred shares at $50. The shares on offer, which represent roughly one-fifth of shares outstanding, will trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The offerings close on April 23.

Intelsat said it will use proceeds to pay down debt.

In February, Intelsat reported a full year loss of $146.6 million on revenues of $2.61 billion. At March 31, it had $15.8 billion in long-term debt.

Intelsat, once a U.S. government consortium, was privatized in 2001. Private equity firms BC Partners and Silver Lake Partners bought Intelsat in 2007 in a huge leveraged buyout that valued it at $16.6 billion.