雅虎香港財經 Creditors to EchoStar’s Hughes Hire Lawyers to Probe Lease Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Some creditors to Hughes Satellite Systems Corp. engaged law firm Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes to scrutinize a costly lease arrangement that they say funnels cash away from the unit to its parent EchoStar, according to people familiar with the situation.
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Hughes, which provides satellite internet service, recently disclosed it had entered into a seven year operating lease agreement with billionaire Charlie Ergen’s EchoStar effective last December, according to regulatory filings. The arrangement calls for Hughes to pay its parent a monthly fee of $15.9 million for access to the EchoStar XXIV satellite to provide rural broadband connectivity. It made a $100 million prepayment in March, the filings show.
Some debt holders are concerned the fees will pressure Hughes’ earnings, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. The group is now exploring options that could include potential litigation, the people added. They’re also examining recent asset transfers among other balance sheet maneuvers, they said.
Representatives for Hughes, EchoStar and Glenn Agre didn’t respond to requests seeking comment.
Hughes’ $748 million of 5.25% first lien notes maturing in 2026 last traded at around 76 cents on the dollar, after touching a low of around 68 cents in May, according to Trace. Its $749 million of 6.625% unsecured notes also due in 2026 traded at around 46 cents Monday.
Hughes’ board of directors also made two dividend payments totaling more than $1 billion to parent EchoStar in the first-quarter, regulatory filings show.
In January Echostar’s Dish Network Corp. announced that it had transferred a handful of wireless spectrum licenses away from the reach of existing creditors and into a new legal entity under its parent. Dish also freed a new subsidiary holding 3 million television subscribers from debt covenants. The asset shuffles spawned creditor organization and litigation.
In April, a group of creditors sued Dish, demanding it undo the collateral transfers and return “wrongfully acquired assets.”
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