Liquidty Bankrupts Sea-Launch
Well, this doesn’t compare to the anomaly from two and a half years ago, but its still significant. Sea-Launch filed for bankruptcy today, via Reuters:
Satellite-launch services provider Sea Launch Co and 5 affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing liquidity concerns and recurring losses from operations.In a filing on Monday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Sea Launch listed assets of up to $500 million and liabilities of more than $1 billion.
The Long Beach, California-based company said in the filing it intends to explore the sale of one or more of its divisions.
Sea Launch, which offers commercial space launch capabilities from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan, is owned by among others Boeing Co (BA.N), Russia’s RSC Energia and Norway’s Aker ASA (AKER.OL).
The case In re Sea Launch Co LLC et al, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware. No. 09-12153.
Oh, the irony. Liquidity problems. From a company that launches Zenit rockets from a converted oil platform.
Here’s the funny part: they filed just after a Land Launch version of the Zenit rocket delivered a Measat spacecraft to GTO. Citigroup may feel otherwise, having underwritten a $245 million one-year Term Loan last week.
Probably won’t impact the worldwide launch industry as much as the NSS-8 failure of 2007.
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