Sea Launch post-bankruptcy plan wins court approval

A Delaware bankruptcy court confirmed Sea Launch's plan to reorganize under majority Russian ownership, clearing a key hurdle on the firm's path to emerge from bankruptcy later this year.
 
The milestone ruling came 13 months after Sea Launch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009.
 

 
The plan calls for Energia Overseas Ltd., a subsidiary of the Russian aerospace giant Energia, to purchase 85 percent of the stock in Sea Launch for $140 million in cash. The unsecured creditors, or firms that acquired a stake in Sea Launch in exchange for owed debts, will collectively hold 15 percent ownership in the reorganized launch business.
 
The previous Sea Launch ownership coalition was led by Boeing Co. with a 40 percent share. Energia, Aker of Norway, and Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash of Ukraine held smaller shares.
 
The California-based firm's Land Launch subsidiary conducted four Zenit flights since 2008 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
 
While the company's reorganization plan has been stuck in litigation, Sea Launch has bulked up its launch backlog with new contracts for commercial satellite missions.
 
Earlier this month, Sea Launch announced a firm contract for delivery of an AsiaSat communications satellite to orbit between 2012 and 2014.
 
Last week, the launch provider signed an agreement with EchoStar Satellite Services to loft up to three spacecraft for the U.S.-based operator.
 
Sea Launch's backlog now includes four firm contracts, including the AsiaSat deal, an Intelsat satellite launch, and agreements for two flights with Eutelsat payloads. The manifest doesn't include unannounced contracts or the conditional EchoStar agreement.
 
Energia Overseas also committed $200 million in working capital to facilitate hardware purchases from suppliers in the United States, Russia and Ukraine.
 
Boeing Co. builds the payload fairing for Sea Launch's Zenit 3SL rocket, Energia provides the Block DM upper stage, while Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash of Ukraine are in charge of manufacturing the Zenit's first and second stages.