Financially Speaking… ProtoStar…

ProtoStar Ltd., a Bermuda corporation, announced the closing of 245M/USD of debt and equity financing to complete the on-going development and launch of its second satellite. The satellite, a Boeing 601HP, is expected to be launched in early 2009 on an International Launch Services (ILS) Proton rocket. ProtoStar has already pre-leased a significant portion of capacity on the satellite, to be named ProtoStar II. Credit Suisse acted as sole bookrunner and joint lead arranger for the recently completed financing and Jefferies & Co. acted as a joint lead arranger. ProtoStar will use the proceeds to complete the refurbishment of a pre-built Boeing manufactured satellite. The satellite’s components have been tailored for high power “footprints” over Indonesia, the Indian Sub-continent and the Philippines/Taiwan. This financing was preceded by 260M/USD of funding in late 2006 to support its first satellite program, ProtoStar I. That satellite, a Space Systems/Loral FS1300, is scheduled to launch on an Arianespace launch vehicle in the second quarter of this year—San Francisco, California