[SatNews] HISPASAT has received the “Deal of the Year” award from...

...Ex-Im Bank of the United States at the 37th annual conference that the financial institution holds in Washington. The winning deal is a guaranteed loan for 164.8 million euros that Ex-Im Bank made to the HISPASAT Group in 2011 to finance its new satellite, Amazonas 3, which is currently under construction. It involves a loan with more favorable financial conditions than what the market currently offers, in amortization periods as well as interest, which earned it the award. The investment in the new Amazonas 3 satellite, with coverage over the American Continent, allows the HISPASAT Group to pursue new growth avenues in one of its main markets, a region where the demand for satellite capacity continues to increase. It is HISPASAT´s financial health that has allowed the company to continue to carry out its Growth Plan which includes five satellites: Amazonas 2 and Hispasat 1E, already launched and operating; Amazonas 3 and AG1, which are under development and the Hispasat 1F, which is in the design phase.

The Amazonas 3 satellite, which is expected to become operative in 2013, will be launched into space by an Ariane 5 launcher from the European Space Centre in French Guiana, in Kourou. Built by Space Systems/Loral on an LS 1300 platform, the Group´s new satellite will have 52 simultaneous transponders, 33 in Ku- and 19 in C-band, as well as nine spot beams in Ka-band, which makes it the first satellite to offer high capacity Ka band to Latin America.