Telesat sued by creditors alleging ‘fraudulent’ asset transfers
Creditors to struggling Telesat Canada sued the satellite operator , demanding the company unwind transfers they said placed the most valuable assets out of their reach and breached lending terms.
The lenders cited the company’s move to shuffle its Lightspeed unit, a network of low-earth orbit satellites , to an indirect subsidiary and out of a collateral package backing its bonds and loans, according to a court filing dated Wednesday.
The lawsuit also alleged Telesat has taken “no action” to address billions of dollars of maturing loans, though the creditors have attempted to engage in discussions.
With the transaction, “the conflicted directors stood on both sides of a non‑arm’s‑length and fraudulent transfer that made no pretense of protecting the interests of Telesat Canada and its creditors,” according to the complaint.
The lawsuit is “without merit,” a spokesperson for Telesat said by email. “The transaction at issue followed a robust governance process and was accomplished in accordance with relevant debt agreements and applicable law. Telesat intends to defend itself vigorously.”
Creditors have been trying to engage with Telesat for years in an effort to address the company’s upcoming debt maturities. The company has about US$1.7 billion of debt coming due in December, including a US$1.3 billion term loan, according to the complaint. It also has US$438 million of debt maturing in 2027.
In September, Telesat said it moved 62 per cent of the equity in its Lightspeed unit into an indirect subsidiary of its parent company. After the deal, Telesat Canada was left with a 38 per cent minority stake in the unit and no control of the LEO network. The company has also borrowed a significant amount of debt from the Canadian government to build out its LEO unit.
Creditors said they were left with a “deteriorating” business focused on geostationary satellites, and stripped of access to its LEO network, which is growing.
The manoeuvre siphoned off billions of dollars from Telesat Canada to the entity that housed the LEO operations, its growth business — while creditors were left with an eroding GEO unit.
“Despite LEO’s significant future value, Telesat Canada is insolvent and lacks the financial wherewithal to bridge its shrinking GEO revenues until any future LEO revenues may materialize, which would be after its nearest debt maturities,” creditors said in the complaint.