LightSquared Lays Out Post-Bankruptcy Ownership

When LightSquared emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as New Lightsquared, four firms will own it, though only three will have board rights. In an FCC filing, LightSquared Subsidiary LLC legal counsel spelled out the expected post-bankruptcy organizational structure of the company as it looks for regulatory approval of its plan to exit its three-year bankruptcy. No one firm would have controlling economic interest, but JPMorgan Chase affiliate SIG Holdings would have between 21.25 percent and 40.91 percent, while hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners would own between 26.65 and 44.45 percent, Fortress Investment Group would have between 16.29 and 26.2 percent, and private equity firm Centerbridge would have between 3.2 and 8.1 percent. Harbinger would have no representation on the board, though it would have some negative protections. The seven-person board would include two Fortress appointees; one Centerbridge appointee; one Reorganized LightSquared appointee; the CEO of New LightSquared; and two appointees determined by board members. The filing was in response to FCC staff requests for more information on the ownership of those companies that would have equity in LightSquared. The company no longer directly provides its satellite-based voice and data services to end users via the AMSC-1, MSAT-1 and SkyTerra-1 satellites, working instead through resellers.