Spacecom says it hasn’t formally concluded talks with the Chinese investors lined up to buy the platform, but admits there have been no recent conversations.
In a statement, the Amos operator says he hasn’t met with China’s Beijing Xinwei Technology Group for several weeks.
“In following up the company’s earlier statements on this matter, the company wishes to inform that although the sides have not decided to cease negotiations, in reality during the recent period, there have not been discussions between the sides,” the company said. “The sides continue to show interest in the deal. A number of differences on fundamental issues remain open between the sides. In parallel, there are a number of other players interested who have shown interest in a deal.”
The two had negotiated a sale price of $285 million. However, that was before the September launch pad explosion of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that destroyed Amos 6.
Subsequently, negotiations with Xinwei resulted in a reduction in the price of one-third and by early December a deal appeared imminent. This was later strongly denied to Broadband TV News by Spacecom’s spokesman.
Meanwhile Spacecom, which had been searching for a buyer for over two years, signed a contract with AsiaSat that would collocate AsiaSat 8 with Amos-3.
Then in late December, Spacecom announced it would procure a new satellite from Boeing Satellite Systems International in a deal worth $161 million.
Amos 17 is expected to launch in 2019 and will operate from 17 degrees East with a footprint covering Africa, the Middle East and Europe. It has a design life of 15 years.
