Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4)
Registration Statement No. 333-149798
PROSPECTUS
GLOBALSTAR, INC.
Debt Securities
Preferred Stock
Common Stock
Depositary Shares
Warrants
We may offer and sell the securities listed above from time to time in one or more offerings and in one or more classes or series. We will offer the securities in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of the offerings. The securities may be offered separately or together in any combination or as a separate series.
This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that may be offered. Each time securities are offered, we will provide a prospectus supplement and attach it to this prospectus. The prospectus supplement will contain more specific information about the offering and the terms of the securities being offered. The supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell securities without a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering.
We may sell these securities directly or through agents, underwriters or dealers, or through a combination of these methods. See "Plan of Distribution." The prospectus supplement will list any agents, underwriters or dealers that may be involved, the compensation they will receive and the nature of any underwriting agreement. The prospectus supplement will also show you the total amount of money that we will receive from selling the securities being offered, after the expenses of the offering, and the price per share or unit of the securities being offered. You should read carefully this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, together with the documents we incorporate by reference, before you invest in any of our securities.
Investing in any of our securities involves risk. Please read carefully the section entitled "Risk Factors" beginning on page 8 of this prospectus.
Our common stock is listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "GSAT." On March 31, 2008, the last reported sale price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $7.29.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
This prospectus is dated April 1, 2008.
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| The Company | 1 | |
| About this Prospectus | 4 | |
| Where You Can Find More Information | 4 | |
| Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference | 4 | |
| Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements | 6 | |
| Risk Factors | 8 | |
| Use of Proceeds | 30 | |
| Ratios of Earnings to Fixed Charges | 31 | |
| Description of Debt Securities | 32 | |
| Description of Capital Stock | 42 | |
| Description of Depositary Shares | 46 | |
| Description of Warrants | 48 | |
| Plan of Distribution | 48 | |
| Disclosure of Commission Position on Indemnification for Securities Act Liability | 50 | |
| Legal Matters | 51 | |
| Experts | 51 |
You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized any dealer, salesman or other person to provide you with additional or different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the securities to which they relate and are not an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make an offer or solicitation in that jurisdiction. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front cover of this prospectus, or that the information contained in any document incorporated by reference is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of a security.
The following is only a summary. We urge you to read this entire prospectus, including the more detailed consolidated financial statements, notes to the consolidated financial statements and other information incorporated by reference from our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC.
Globalstar, Inc. is a leading provider of mobile voice and data communications services via satellite. By providing wireless services in areas not served or underserved by terrestrial wireless and wireline networks, we seek to address our customers' increasing desire for connectivity. Using, at any given time, approximately 48 in-orbit satellites and 25 ground stations, which we refer to as gateways, we offer voice and data communications services in over 120 countries. Thirteen of these gateways are operated by unaffiliated companies, which we refer to as independent gateway operators and which purchase communications services from us on a wholesale basis for resale to their customers.
Our network, originally owned by Globalstar, L.P., or Old Globalstar, was designed, built and launched in the late 1990s by a technology partnership led by Loral Space and Communications and Qualcomm Incorporated, or QUALCOMM. On February 15, 2002, Old Globalstar and three of its subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. In 2004, we completed the second stage of a two stage acquisition of the business and assets of Old Globalstar. The first stage was completed on December 5, 2003, when Thermo Capital Partners LLC was deemed to obtain operational control of the business, as well as certain ownership rights and risks. The second stage was completed in 2004 when we received final approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC. Thermo Capital Partners, LLC which owns and operates companies in diverse business sectors and is referred to in this prospectus, together with its affiliates, as "Thermo," became our principal owner in that transaction. We refer to that transaction as the "Reorganization."
We were formed as a Delaware limited liability company in November 2003, and were converted into a Delaware corporation on March 17, 2006. Unless we specifically state otherwise, all information in this prospectus is presented as if we were a corporation throughout the relevant periods.
In anticipation of our initial public offering, which was completed on November 2, 2006, our certificate of incorporation was amended on October 25, 2006 to combine our three series of common stock into one class and our Board of Directors approved a six-for-one stock split. Unless we specifically state otherwise, all information in this prospectus is presented as if these corporate events had occurred at the beginning of the relevant periods.
We currently provide the following telecommunications services:
In most of the world, we have authority to operate a wireless communications network via satellite over 27.85 MHz of radio spectrum, which is comprised of two blocks of contiguous global radio frequencies. In the United States, the FCC has authorized us to use 25.225 MHz. We refer to our licensed radio frequencies as our "spectrum." We are also licensed by the FCC to use 11MHz of our spectrum to provide an ancillary terrestrial component, known as ATC, in the United States in combination with our existing satellite communications service. On November 9, 2007, the FCC requested comment on whether we should be authorized to provide ATC service over an aggregate 19.275 MHz (an additional 8.275 MHz), of our licensed spectrum. ATC services enable the integration
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of a satellite-based service with terrestrial wireless service, resulting in a hybrid network designed to provide customers with advanced service and broad coverage.
Our services are available only with equipment designed to work on our network. The equipment we offer to our customers consists principally of:
At December 31, 2007, we served approximately 284,000 subscribers. We increased our net subscribers by approximately 8% from December 31, 2006 to December 31, 2007. We count "subscribers" based on the number of devices that are subject to agreements which entitle them to use our voice or data communications services rather than the number of persons or entities who own or lease those devices.
Our satellite constellation was launched in the late 1990s. To supplement our existing satellite constellation, we launched eight spare satellites in 2007. We expect these newly-launched satellites to provide two-way communications service through the deployment of our second-generation constellation. A number of our satellites have experienced various anomalies over time, one of which is a degradation in the performance of the solid-state power amplifiers of the S-band communications antenna subsystem. The S-band antenna provides the downlink from the satellite to a subscriber's phone or data terminal. Degraded performance of an S-band antenna amplifier reduces the availability of two-way voice and data communication between the affected satellite and the subscriber. If the S-band antenna on a satellite ceases to function, two-way communication is impossible over that satellite, but not necessarily over the constellation as a whole. Subscriber service will continue to be available as long as some satellites are functional, but at certain times in any given location two-way communications service may not be available, it may take longer to establish calls and the average duration of calls may be reduced. We believe that if the degradation of the S-band antenna amplifiers continues at the current rate or further accelerates, and if we are unsuccessful in developing additional technical solutions, interruptions of two-way communications services will increase, and by some time in 2008 substantially all of our in-orbit satellites launched prior to 2007 will cease to be able to support two-way communications services. See "Risk Factors—Our satellites have a limited life and some have failed, which causes our network to be compromised and which materially and adversely affects our business, prospects and profitability."
This S-band antenna amplifier degradation does not adversely affect our one-way Simplex data transmission services, which use only the L-band uplink from a subscriber's Simplex terminal to our satellites. We intend to exploit our ability to provide uninterrupted Simplex services with the introduction of new products and services, including the introduction of a consumer-oriented, hand-held tracking and emergency messaging device, the SPOT™ satellite messenger, made commercially available in November 2007. The SPOT satellite messenger uses both the GPS satellite network to determine a customer's location and the SPOT network to transmit that information to friends, family or an emergency service center.
On November 30, 2006, we and Thales Alenia Space entered into a contract for the construction of 48 low-earth-orbit satellites for our second-generation satellite constellation, which we expect to extend the life of our network until at least 2025. The contract requires Thales Alenia Space to commence delivery of the satellites in the third quarter of 2009. At our request, Thales Alenia Space has presented a four-part sequential plan for accelerating delivery of the initial 24 satellites by up to four months. We have accepted the first two portions of this plan. We cannot assure you that any or all
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of this acceleration will occur. On September 5, 2007, we entered into a contract with Arianespace, our "Launch Provider," for the launch of our second-generation satellites and certain pre- and post-launch services. Pursuant to the contract, our Launch Provider will make four launches of six satellites each, and we have the option to require our Launch Provider to make four additional launches of six satellites each. The total contract price for the procurement of our second-generation satellite constellation and related launch services is approximately $1.16 billion (the majority of which is denominated in Euros).
Our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005 was $98.4 million, $136.7 million and $127.1 million, respectively. Our net income (loss) for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005 was $(27.9) million, $23.6 million and $18.7 million, respectively.
Our principal executive offices are located at 461 South Milpitas Blvd., Milpitas, California 95035 and our telephone number at that address is (408) 933-4000.
Unless the context requires otherwise or unless otherwise noted, all references in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement to the "Company," "Globalstar," "we" or "our" are to Globalstar, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
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This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC, using a "shelf" registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer and sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of the offering and the offered securities. A prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. Any statement that we make in this prospectus will be modified or superseded by any inconsistent statement made by us in a prospectus supplement. You should read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with additional information described under the heading "Where You Can Find More Information." Please see "Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference."
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We file annual, quarterly and current reports and other information with the SEC (File No. 1-33117) pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. You may read and copy any documents that are filed at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may also obtain copies of these documents at prescribed rates from the Public Reference Room of the SEC at its Washington address. Please call the SEC at l-800-SEC-0330 for further information.
Our filings are also available to the public through the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE
The SEC allows us to "incorporate by reference" information that we file with them, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to documents previously filed with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. The following documents we filed with the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act are incorporated herein by reference:
All documents filed pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act (excluding any information furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 on any Current Report on Form 8-K) after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to the effectiveness of the registration statement and after the date of this prospectus and prior to the time that all the securities have been issued as described in this prospectus shall be deemed to be incorporated in this prospectus by reference and to be a part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Any statement contained herein, or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein, shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed document that also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or
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superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.
You may request a copy of these filings at no cost by writing or telephoning us at the following address and telephone number:
Globalstar, Inc.
461 South Milpitas Blvd.
Milpitas, California 95035
(408) 933-4000
We also maintain a website at http://www.globalstar.com. However, the information on our website is not part of this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.
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CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, our filings with the SEC and our public releases, other than purely historical information, including, but not limited to, estimates, projections, statements relating to our business plans, objectives and expected operating results, and the assumptions upon which those statements are based, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A(i) of the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E(i) of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," "will be," "will continue," "will likely result," and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, such as the statements regarding our ability to develop and expand our business, our ability to manage costs, our ability to exploit and respond to technological innovation, the effects of laws and regulations (including tax laws and regulations) and legal and regulatory changes, the opportunities for strategic business combinations and the effects of consolidation in our industry on us and our competitors, our anticipated future revenues, our anticipated capital spending (including for future satellite procurements and launches), our anticipated financial resources, our expectations about the future operational performance of our satellites (including their projected operational lives), the expected strength of and growth prospects for our existing customers and the markets that we serve, and other statements contained in this report regarding matters that are not historical facts, involve predictions. Risks and uncertainties that could cause or contribute to such differences include, without limitation, those discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" included in this prospectus and elsewhere in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, our subsequent SEC filings and those factors summarized below.
Although we believe that the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based upon reasonable assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus may not occur, and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. The following listing represents some, but not necessarily all, of the factors that may cause actual results to differ from those anticipated or predicted:
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New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events or performance. We cannot assure you that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. These cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf.
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Your investment in our securities involves risks. You should carefully consider, in addition to the other information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement the risks described below before deciding whether an investment in our securities is appropriate for you. Additional risks and uncertainties that are not yet identified or that we currently deem immaterial may also materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Risks Related to Our Business
We have a short operating history. Our predecessor incurred substantial losses. Our operating results have fluctuated and may continue to do so.
We acquired the assets of Old Globalstar in December 2003 in a proceeding under the Bankruptcy Code. Prior to that time, Old Globalstar incurred substantial losses, including operating losses of $260.7 million in 2003. Since our acquisition of the Globalstar business, we incurred an operating loss of $3.5 million in 2004, had operating profits of $21.9 million and $15.7 million in 2005 and 2006, respectively, and, largely as a result of problems with our two-way communications services, incurred an operating loss of $24.6 million in 2007. We expect that our operating results will continue to be volatile, at least until we have deployed and placed into service our second-generation satellite constellation.
Our satellites have a limited life and some have failed, which causes our network to be compromised and which materially and adversely affects our business, prospects and profitability.
Since the first Old Globalstar satellites were launched in 1998, ten satellites have failed in orbit and we expect others to fail in the future. Eight of these satellite failures have been attributed to anomalies of the S-band antenna. The ninth satellite's failure was attributed to an anomaly of the satellite command receiver. The tenth satellite's failure was attributed to a failure of one of its two solar array wings and a failure in a branch module in the flight computer. In-orbit failure may result from various causes, including component failure, loss of power or fuel, inability to control positioning of the satellite, solar or other astronomical events, including solar radiation and flares, and space debris. We consider a satellite "failed" only when it can no longer provide any communications service, and we do not intend to undertake any further efforts to return it to service. Other factors that could affect the useful lives of our satellites include the quality of construction, gradual degradation of solar panels and the durability of components. Radiation induced failure of satellite components may result in damage to or loss of a satellite before the end of its currently expected life.
As a result of the issues described above, some of our in-orbit satellites may not be fully functioning at any given time. As discussed below, substantially all of our current satellites launched before 2007 have experienced partial failures and degraded performance of their S-band downlink communications capabilities, and we currently believe that by the end of 2008 none of these satellites will be able to support two-way communication services. However, this will not impair their ability to continue to support Simplex data transmissions in the L-band, and accordingly, we do not classify them as "failed."
As our constellation has aged, the ability of our satellites to carry two-way communications has diminished, and is continuing to diminish, adversely affecting the availability of our two-way communications service, which has adversely affected our results of operations, cash flow and financial condition. Although we do not incur any direct cash costs related to the failure of a satellite, if a satellite fails, we record an impairment charge reflecting its net book value. There are some remote tools we use to remedy certain types of problems affecting the performance of our satellites, but the physical repair of satellites in space is not feasible. We do not insure our satellites against in-orbit failures, whether such failures are caused by internal or external factors.
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S-band Antenna Amplifier Degradation
As described further below, the degradation of the S-band antenna amplifier in our satellites launched prior to 2007, previously disclosed in February 2007, has recently slowed but is expected to continue. The S-band antenna provides the downlink from the satellite to a subscriber's phone or data terminal. Degraded performance of the S-band antenna reduces the call completion rate for two-way voice and data communication between the affected satellites and the subscriber and may reduce the duration of a call. If the S-band antenna on a satellite ceases to be commercially functional, two-way communication is impossible over that satellite, but not necessarily over the constellation as a whole. The root cause of the degradation in performance of the S-band antenna amplifiers is unknown, although we believe it may result from irradiation of the satellites in orbit. The S-band antenna amplifier degradation does not affect adversely our one-way Simplex data transmission services, which utilize only the L-band uplink from a subscriber's Simplex terminal to the satellites.
To date, we have managed the degradation of the S-band antenna amplifiers in various technical ways, as well as by launching our spare satellites, placing into service spare satellites already in orbit and moving less impaired satellites to key orbital positions. To address the quality and capacity of our service in light of this problem and to prepare for the integration of our eight spare satellites launched in 2007 (four of which were launched in May 2007 and the remaining four in October 2007), on February 2, 2007, we completed the reconfiguration of our satellite constellation to combine two different "Walker" configurations, which continue to operate as a single constellation of 48 satellites plus in-orbit spares. This reconfiguration was done to maintain, to the extent possible, the capacity and quality of service as well as to insert the spare satellites into the constellation. The eight spare satellites launched will be utilized to augment our existing satellite constellation and later will be integrated into our second-generation satellite constellation. On October 4, 2007, we completed another reconfiguration of our satellite constellation into two further different "Walker" configurations. This reconfiguration was done to improve service given the current operating status of our old satellite constellation and the newly launched eight satellites. We currently expect to launch our second-generation satellites beginning no later than the second-half of 2009.
In early 2006, we engaged an expert third-party to undertake a comprehensive review of the S-band antenna amplifier degradation and its likely impact on the performance of the constellation as a whole. At that time, based in part on the third-party report, we concluded that, although there was risk, with the addition of the eight spare satellites in 2007, the constellation would continue to provide commercially viable two-way communication services until the next generation satellites begin to be launched in 2009. However, based on data collected in 2007 from satellite operations, we concluded in February 2007 that the degradation of the S-band functionality for two-way communications service is occurring at a faster rate than previously experienced and anticipated. In response, in consultation with outside experts, we have implemented innovative methods, and plan to continue to research additional measures, to attempt to ameliorate this problem, including modifying the configuration of our constellation as described above, changing the way our gateways operate with the satellites and experimenting with new antennas on our phones, thereby attempting to extend the life of the two-way communication capacity of the constellation. We have forecasted the time and duration of two-way service coverage at any particular location in our service area, and we have made this information available without charge to our customers and service providers, including our wholly owned operating subsidiaries, so that they may work with their subscribers to reduce the impact of the service interruptions in their respective service areas. Nonetheless, we expect the S-band antenna amplifier degradation to continue as the satellites age in orbit.
We believe that if the degradation of the S-band antenna amplifiers continues at the current rate or further accelerates, and if we are unsuccessful in developing additional technical solutions, interruptions of two-way communications services will increase, and by some time in 2008 substantially all of our in-orbit satellites launched prior to 2007 will cease to be able to support two-way communications services. As the number of in-orbit satellites (other than the eight spare satellites
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launched in 2007) with properly functioning S-band antenna amplifiers decreases, even with optimized placement in orbit of the eight spare satellites, increasingly larger coverage gaps will occur over areas in which we currently provide two-way communications service. Two-way communications service will continue to be available, but at certain times in any given location it will take substantially longer to establish calls and the average duration of calls will be impacted adversely. This has materially adversely affected our ability to attract new subscribers and maintain our existing subscribers for our two-way communications services, equipment sales of two-way communication devices, ARPU and our results of operations and is likely to have a further material adverse effect on each of these in the future. If our subscriber base declines, our ability to attract and retain subscribers at higher rates when our second- generation constellation is placed in service may be affected adversely.
During the year ended December 31, 2007, our retail average revenue per unit, or ARPU, decreased by 21% to $46.26 from $58.91 in 2006. In addition, our service revenue declined from $92.0 million to $78.3 million and our subscriber equipment sales declined from $44.6 million to $20.1 million. We believe that customer reaction to the S-band antenna amplifier degradation and our related price reductions have been the primary cause of these reductions. If we are unable to maintain our customer base for two-way communications service, our business and profitability may be further materially and adversely affected. In addition, after our second-generation satellite constellation becomes operational, we may face challenges in maintaining our current subscriber base for two-way communications service because we plan then to increase prices, consistent with market conditions, to reflect our improved two-way service and coverage.
Our business plan includes exploiting our ATC license in the United States by combining ATC services with our existing business. If we are unable to accomplish this effectively, our anticipated future revenues and profitability will be reduced and we will lose our investment in developing ATC services.
We are licensed by the FCC to use a portion of our spectrum to provide ATC services in the United States in combination with our existing communication services. If we can integrate ATC services with our existing business, which will require us to make satisfactory arrangements with terrestrial wireless or other communications service providers, we will be able to use the spectrum currently licensed to us to provide an integrated telecommunications offering incorporating both our satellite and ground station system and a terrestrial-based cellular-like system. If successful, this will allow us to address a broader market for our products and services, thereby increasing our revenue and profitability and the value of our business. However, neither we nor any other company has yet successfully integrated a commercial ATC service with satellite services, and we may be unable to do so.
Northern Sky Research estimates that development of an independent terrestrial network to provide ATC services could cost $2.5 to $3.0 billion in the United States alone. We do not expect to have sufficient capital resources to develop independently the terrestrial component of an ATC network. Therefore, in the foreseeable future full exploitation of our ATC opportunity will require us to lease portions of our ATC-licensed spectrum to, or form satisfactory partnerships, service contracts, joint ventures or other arrangements with, other telecommunications or spectrum-based service providers.
Although we have entered into an agreement with Open Range Communications, Inc., or Open Range, that will permit Open Range to deploy service in certain rural geographic markets in the United States under our ATC authority, the agreement is contingent on receiving authority from the FCC to use an expanded portion of our spectrum for ATC services and any other FCC approval of the agreement which may be required and Open Range's completion of its equity and debt financing. We can give no assurance that these conditions will be satisfied, that FCC approval will be received or that the Open Range agreement will improve our revenues and profitability.
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We may not be able to establish other arrangements at all or on favorable terms and, if such arrangements are established, the other parties may not fulfill their obligations. If we are unable to form a suitable partnership or enter into service contract, joint venture agreement or additional leases, we may not be able to realize our plan to offer ATC services, which would limit our ability to expand our business and reduce our revenues and profitability, and adversely affect the value of our ATC license. In addition, in such event we will lose any resources we have invested in developing ATC services, which may be substantial.
The FCC rules governing ATC are relatively new and are subject to interpretation. The scope of ATC services that we will be permitted and required to provide under our existing FCC license is unclear and we may be required to seek amendments to our ATC license to execute our business plan. The FCC's rules require ATC service providers to demonstrate that their mobile satellite and ATC services satisfy certain gating criteria, such as constituting an "integrated service offering," and maintain at least one in-orbit spare satellite. The FCC reserves the right to rescind ATC authority if the FCC determines that a licensee has failed to provide an "integrated service offering" or to comply with other gating criteria. It is therefore possible that we could lose our existing or future ATC authority, in which case we could lose all or much of our investment in developing ATC services, as well as future revenues from such services.
On November 9, 2007, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking requesting comments on whether we should be authorized to provide ATC services in the portion of the S-band between 2483.5 and 2495 MHz and in the portion of the L-band that we do not share with Iridium. If the FCC fails to adopt all or a substantial portion of the proposed rule, our ATC strategy may be affected adversely and we may not realize some or all of the value we had hoped to receive from our ATC license.
The development and operation of our ATC system may also infringe on unknown and unidentified intellectual property rights of other persons, which could require us to modify our business plan, thereby increasing our development costs and slowing our time to market. If we are unable to meet the regulatory requirements applicable to ATC services or develop or acquire the required technology, we may not be able to realize our plan to offer ATC services, which would decrease our revenues and profitability.
Implementation of our business plan depends on increased demand for wireless communications services via satellite, both for our existing services and products and for new services and products. If this increased demand does not occur, our revenues and profitability may not increase as we expect.
Demand for wireless communication services via satellite may not grow, or may even shrink, either generally or in particular geographic markets, for particular types of services or during particular time periods. A lack of demand could impair our ability to sell our services and to develop and successfully market new services, or could exert downward pressure on prices, or both. This, in turn, could decrease our revenues and profitability and adversely affect our ability to increase our revenues and profitability over time.
The success of our business plan will depend on a number of factors, including:
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The implementation of our business plan and our ability to return to profitability assumes that we are able to continue to generate revenue and positive cash flow as our existing satellite constellation continues to age, and to deploy successfully our second-generation satellite constellation, both of which are contingent on a number of factors.
As our existing satellite constellation has aged, our customers' ability to access our two-way communications service at all times and places has diminished and is continuing to diminish. Specifically, the degradation of the S-band antenna amplifier in our satellites launched prior to 2007, has continued although at a slower rate than we predicted in February 2007. Our ability to generate revenue and positive cash flow, at least until our second-generation satellite constellation is deployed and begins to generate revenue, will depend upon several factors, including whether:
Our ability to generate revenue and cash flow has been adversely impacted by our need to reduce our prices for two-way communications services to seek to maintain our customer base despite issues affecting the performance of our network. Further, our business plan and our ability to return to profitability assume that we will be able to deploy successfully our second-generation satellite constellation. In order to do so, we are dependent on third parties, such as Thales Alenia Space and our Launch Provider, to build and launch our satellites. The construction of these satellites is technically complex and subject to construction and delivery delays that could result from a variety of causes, including the failure of third-party vendors to perform as anticipated and changes in the technical specifications of the satellites. Although we have entered into contracts with Thales Alenia Space that anticipate launch of our second-generation satellites beginning in the second-half of 2009, and we have arranged with Thales Alenia Space for acceleration of a portion of the initial 24 satellites by up to four months, there can be no assurance that the delivery of these satellites will be timely. We have not arranged an alternative source if Thales Alenia Space is unable or unwilling to fulfill these contracts. If Thales Alenia Space fails to deliver these initial satellites in a timely manner, our ability to meet our projected launch schedule would be materially adversely affected, and our operations and business plan, which assume a functioning second-generation satellite constellation by 2010, would be materially adversely affected.
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The launch of our second-generation satellite constellation is also subject to FCC approval. There could be a delay in obtaining this approval, caused by factors outside of our control, such as third-party opposition to our application. In addition, there is a remote possibility that the FCC could refuse to grant this approval.
During any period of delay, we would not be generating the cash flow expected from our new constellation to fund its completion (including procuring replacement satellites) by 2014, and we may be unable to obtain additional financing on favorable terms, or at all, during periods of delay. A delay could also require rescheduling of the anticipated launch dates, and alternative launch slots may not be available within a reasonable period of time, which would also have a material adverse affect on our operations and financial condition.
We depend in large part on the efforts of third parties for the retail sale of our services and products. The inability of these third parties to sell our services and products successfully may decrease our revenue and profitability.
For each of the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, approximately 90% of our revenue was derived from products and services sold through independent agents, dealers and resellers, including, outside the United States, independent gateway operators. If these third parties are unable to market our products and services successfully, our revenue and profitability may decrease.
We depend on independent gateway operators to market our services in important regions around the world. If the independent gateway operators are unable to do this successfully, we will not be able to grow our business in those areas as rapidly as we expect.
Although we derive most of our revenue from retail sales to end users in the United States, Canada, a portion of Western Europe, Central America and the northern portion of South America, either directly or through agents, dealers and resellers, we depend on independent gateway operators to purchase, install, operate and maintain gateway equipment, to sell phones and data user terminals, and to market our services in other regions where these independent gateway operators hold exclusive or non-exclusive rights. Not all of the independent gateway operators have been successful and, in some regions, they have not initiated service or sold as much usage as originally anticipated. Some of the independent gateway operators are not earning revenues sufficient to fund their operating costs. If they are unable to continue in business, we will lose the revenue we receive for selling equipment to them and providing services to their customers. Although we have implemented a strategy for the acquisition of certain independent gateway operators when circumstances permit, we may not be able to continue to implement this strategy on favorable terms and may not be able to realize the additional efficiencies that we anticipate from this strategy. In some regions it is impracticable to acquire the independent gateway operators either because local regulatory requirements or business or cultural norms do not permit an acquisition, because the expected revenue increase from an acquisition would be insufficient to justify the transaction, or because the independent gateway operator will not sell at a price acceptable to us. In those regions, our revenue and profits may be adversely affected if those independent gateway operators do not fulfill their own business plans to increase substantially their sales of services and products.
Our success in generating sufficient cash from operations to fund a portion of the cost of our second-generation satellite constellation will depend in part on the market acceptance and success of our new SPOT satellite messenger and other Simplex products and services, which may not occur.
In 2007, we launched new products to expand the scope of our Simplex services. On November 1, 2007, we introduced the SPOT satellite messenger, aimed at both recreational and commercial customers who require personal tracking, emergency location and messaging solutions that operate beyond the range of traditional terrestrial and wireless communications.
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The market for our SPOT satellite messenger is new and untested. We cannot predict with certainty the potential demand for the services we plan to offer or the extent to which we will be able to meet that demand. Although a survey has assessed the potential addressable market for SPOT products and services in North America at 50 million units, the actual size of the market is unknown and subject to significant uncertainty. Our objective is to capture 2-3% of that market by the end of 2010, but we cannot assure you that we will reach that goal. Demand for our Simplex offerings in general, in particular geographic markets, for particular types of services or during particular time periods may not enable us to generate sufficient positive cash flow to fund a portion of the cost of our second-generation satellite constellation. Among other things, end user acceptance of our Simplex offerings will depend upon:
Our business plan assumes a rapidly growing subscriber base for Simplex products. If we cannot implement this business plan successfully and gain market acceptance for these planned Simplex products and services, our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity could be materially and adversely affected.
Because SPOT products and services will be used in isolated and, in some cases, dangerous locations, we cannot predict whether users of the device who suffer injury or death may seek to assert claims against us alleging failure of the device to facilitate timely emergency response. Although we will seek to limit our exposure to any such claims through appropriate disclaimers and liability insurance coverage, we cannot assure investors that the disclaimers will be effective, claims will not arise or insurance coverage will be sufficient.
We have incurred substantial obligations to purchase equipment and services.
As of December 31, 2007, we had outstanding purchase obligations of over $1.12 billion (a majority of which is denominated in Euros) related to the procurement and deployment of our second-generation satellite constellation and related ground installations, the purchase of mobile phones and related equipment and other contractual obligations. The nature of these purchases requires us to enter into long-term fixed price contracts. We could cancel some of these purchase commitments, subject to the incurrence of specified cancellation penalties. We do not currently have and have not arranged all of the funds necessary to fulfill these purchase commitments and may not be able to obtain them.
In addition, our cost of services is comprised primarily of network operating costs, which are generally fixed in nature. Accordingly, we are generally unable to adjust our operating costs or capital expenditures to match fluctuations in our revenue.
We must generate significant cash from operations and have to raise additional capital in order to complete our second-generation satellite constellation.
We estimate the total capital costs of procuring and deploying our second-generation satellite constellation and related upgrades to be approximately $1.25 billion (including certain discretionary ground segment upgrades). As of December 31, 2007, we had incurred approximately $221.1 million (excluding internal costs, capitalized interest but including $74.7 million which is held in escrow
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pursuant to the contract for the procurement of our second-generation satellite constellation to secure our payment obligations under that contract) of this amount. We estimate approximately $633.4 million (excluding estimated costs of ground infrastructure upgrades and initial payments related to the second batch of 24 satellites) will be incurred from January 1, 2008 through the third quarter of 2010, when we anticipate the launching of 24 second-generation satellites will be complete. We plan to fund approximately $118.4 million of this amount from cash on hand (including our restricted funds held in escrow as described above), $150.0 million ($50.0 million of which was drawn at December 31, 2007) from our credit facility, and approximately $415.0 million with cash from operations and from other sources of funding including but not limited to the sale of debt, equity or a combination of both. Our cash needs could increase depending on, for example, our operational requirements and continued declines in the value of the U.S. dollar against the Euro.
Our ability to generate a portion of the required $415.0 million from operations by late 2010 depends on our ability to generate substantial earnings from our new SPOT satellite messenger and other Simplex products and to maintain our current level of revenue from subscribers for two-way communications service. We introduced SPOT products and services to consumers in November 2007; accordingly the commercial success of this product is uncertain. After 2010, our ability to generate sufficient cash from operations to complete construction of our second- generation satellite constellation is based on the continued success of these Simplex product offerings, and assumes that we are able to transition our then-existing two-way subscriber base to significantly increased ARPU through, and add new two-way subscribers at, higher priced service offerings consistent with expected prevailing market prices and the enhanced capabilities, increased service quality and broader coverage area we expect following the deployment of our second-generation satellite constellation.
To meet the cost requirements for completing the procurement and deployment of our second-generation satellite constellation, we expect that we will need to obtain substantial funding from third-party sources. This funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all, if our future revenues or cash flow are below our expectations, whether as a result of the impact on our two-way subscriber base from degradation of our existing constellation, our failure to generate sufficient revenue from our new SPOT satellite messenger and other Simplex products or for any other reason. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash from operations and from additional capital sources and are therefore unable to fund the procurement and deployment of our second- generation satellite constellation in the time period described above, our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity would be materially and adversely affected.
Moreover, if for any other reason we are unable to deploy our second-generation satellite constellation before our current constellation ceases to provide commercially viable service, we are likely to lose subscribers, and will incur a further decline in revenues and profitability as our ability to provide commercially viable service declines.
We currently are unable to offer service in important regions of the world due to the absence of gateways in those areas, which is limiting our growth and our ability to compete.
Our objective is to establish a worldwide service network, either directly or through independent gateway operators, but to date we have been unable to do so in certain areas of the world and we may not succeed in doing so in the future. We have been unable to find capable independent gateway operators for several important regions and countries, including Eastern and Southern Africa, India, and certain parts of Southeast Asia. In addition to the lack of global service availability, cost-effective roaming is not yet available in certain countries because the independent gateway operators have been unable to reach business arrangements with one another. This could reduce overall demand for our products and services and undermine our value for potential users who require service in these areas.
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Rapid and significant technological changes in the satellite communications industry may impair our competitive position and require us to make significant additional capital expenditures.
The hardware and software utilized in operating our gateways were designed and manufactured over 10 years ago and portions are becoming obsolete. As they continue to age, they may become less reliable and will be more difficult and expensive to service. Although we maintain inventories of spare parts, it nonetheless may be difficult or impossible to obtain all necessary replacement parts for the hardware. Our business plan contemplates updating or replacing this hardware and software, and we are negotiating with manufacturers to upgrade our gateways for our second-generation constellation, but we may not be successful in these efforts, and the cost may exceed our estimates. We expect to face competition in the future from companies using new technologies and new satellite systems. The space and communications industries are subject to rapid advances and innovations in technology. New technology could render our system obsolete or less competitive by satisfying consumer demand in more attractive ways or through the introduction of incompatible standards. Particular technological developments that could adversely affect us include the deployment by our competitors of new satellites with greater power, greater flexibility, greater efficiency or greater capabilities, as well as continuing improvements in terrestrial wireless technologies. For us to keep up with technological changes and remain competitive, we will need to make significant capital expenditures. Customer acceptance of the services and products that we offer will continually be affected by technology-based differences in our product and service offerings. New technologies may be protected by patents or other intellectual property laws and therefore may not be available to us.
A natural disaster could diminish our ability to provide communications service.
Natural disasters could damage or destroy our ground stations resulting in a disruption of service to our customers. In addition, the collateral effects of such disasters such as flooding may impair the functioning of our ground equipment. If a natural disaster were to impair or destroy any of our ground facilities, we might be unable to provide service to our customers in the affected area for a period of time. Even if our gateways are not affected by natural disasters, our service could be disrupted if a natural disaster damages the public switch telephone network or terrestrial wireless networks or our ability to connect to the public switch telephone network or terrestrial wireless networks. Such failure or service disruptions could harm our business and results of operations.
We may not be able to launch our satellites successfully. Loss of a satellite during launch could delay or impair our ability to offer our services or reduce our revenues and launch insurance will not fully cover this risk.
We have in the past insured the launch of our satellites, but we do not insure our existing satellites during their remaining in-orbit operational lives. Insurance proceeds would likely be available in the event of a launch failure, but acquiring replacements for any of the satellites will cause a delay in the deployment of our second-generation constellation and any insurance proceeds would not cover lost revenue.
We anticipate our launch failure insurance policy to include specified exclusions, deductibles and material change limitations. Some (but not all) exclusions could include damage arising from acts of war, anti-satellite devices and other similar potential risks for which exclusions were customary in the industry at the time the policy was written.
If launch insurance rates were to rise substantially, our future launch costs would increase. In addition, in light of increasing costs, the scope of insurance exclusions and limitations on the nature of the losses for which we can obtain insurance, or other business reasons, we may conclude that it does not make business sense to obtain third-party insurance and may decide to pursue other strategies for mitigating the risk of a satellite launch failure, such as purchasing additional spare satellites or
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obtaining relaunch guaranties from the launch provider. It is also possible that insurance could become unavailable, either generally or for a specific launch vehicle, or that new insurance could be subject to broader exclusions on coverage, in which event we would bear the risk of launch failures.
An FCC decision to license a second CDMA operator in our band, or to take other steps that would reduce our existing spectrum allocation or impose additional spectrum sharing agreements on us, could adversely affect our services and operations.
Under the FCC's plan for mobile satellite services in our frequency bands, we must share frequencies in the United States with other licensed mobile satellite services operators. To date, there are no other authorized CDMA-based mobile satellite services operators and no pending applications for authorization. However, there is a potential German CDMA system called Courier which may be built and which may use our frequencies. We may be required to share spectrum with this system or other systems that are not currently licensed by the U.S. or any other jurisdiction.
Spectrum values historically have been volatile, which could cause the value of our company to fluctuate.
Our business plan is evolving and it may include forming strategic partnerships to maximize value for our spectrum, network assets and combined service offerings in the United States and internationally. Value that we may be able to realize from such partnerships will depend in part on the value ascribed to our spectrum. Valuations of spectrum in other frequency bands historically have been volatile, and we cannot predict at what amount a future partner may be willing to value our spectrum and other assets. In addition, to the extent that the FCC takes action that makes additional spectrum available or promotes the more flexible use or greater availability (e.g., via spectrum leasing or new spectrum sales) of existing satellite or terrestrial spectrum allocations, the availability of such additional spectrum could reduce the value of our spectrum authorizations and business.
We face intense competition in all of our markets, which could result in a loss of customers and lower revenues and make it more difficult for us to enter new markets.
Satellite-based Competitors
There are currently five other satellite operators providing services similar to ours on a global or regional basis: Iridium, Inmarsat, MSV, Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company and Asia Cellular Satellite. In addition, ICO Global Communications (Holdings) Limited and TerreStar Corporation plan to launch their new satellite systems within the next few years and MSV plans to launch a new high-capacity satellite in 2009. The provision of satellite-based products and services is subject to downward price pressure when the capacity exceeds demand.
Although we believe there is currently no commercially available product comparable to our new SPOT satellite messenger product, other providers of satellite—based products could introduce their own similar products if the SPOT product is successful, which may materially adversely affect our business plan. In addition, we may face competition from new competitors or new technologies. With so many companies targeting many of the same customers, we may not be able to retain successfully our existing customers and attract new customers and as a result may not grow our customer base and revenue.
Terrestrial Competitors
In addition to our satellite-based competitors, terrestrial wireless voice and data service providers are expanding into rural and remote areas and providing the same general types of services and products that we provide through our satellite-based system. Many of these companies have greater resources, greater name recognition and newer technologies than we do. Industry consolidation could adversely affect us by increasing the scale or scope of our competitors and thereby making it more
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difficult for us to compete. We could lose market share and revenue as a result of increasing competition from the extension of land-based communication services.
Although satellite communications services and ground-based communications services are not perfect substitutes, the two compete in certain markets and for certain services. Consumers generally perceive wireless voice communication products and services as cheaper and more convenient than satellite-based ones.
Additionally, the extension of terrestrial telecommunications services to regions previously underserved or not served by wireline or wireless services may reduce demand for our service in those regions. These land-based telecommunications services have been built quickly; therefore, demand for our products and services may decline in these areas more rapidly than we assumed in formulating our business plan. This development has led, in part, to our efforts to identify and sell into geographically remote markets and further the deployment of user terminals and data products in these markets. If we are unable to attract new customers in these regions, our customer base may decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
ATC Competitors
We also expect to compete with a number of other existing and future wireless providers that may develop ATC integrated networks. For example, MSV has received a license from the FCC to operate an ATC network, and Terrestar filed an application for ATC authority in September 2007. Other competitors are expected to seek approval from the FCC to operate ATC services. Any of these competitors could offer an integrated satellite and terrestrial network before we do, could combine with terrestrial networks that provide them with greater financial or operational flexibility than we have, or could offer an ATC network that customers prefer over ours.
The loss of customers, particularly our large customers, may reduce our future revenues.
We may lose customers due to competition, consolidation, regulatory developments, business developments affecting our customers or their customers, the anticipated constellation degradation or a more rapid than anticipated degradation of our constellation or for other reasons. Our top 10 customers for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 accounted for, in the aggregate, approximately 16% and 22% of our total revenues of $98.4 million and $136.7 million, respectively. For the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, revenues from our largest customer were $6.2 million or 6%, and $5.4 million or 4% of our total revenues, respectively. If we fail to maintain our relationships with our major customers, if we lose them and fail to replace them with other similar customers, or if we experience reduced demand from our major customers, our profitability could be significantly reduced through the loss of these revenues. In addition, we may be required to record additional costs to the extent that amounts due from these customers become uncollectible. More generally, our customers may fail to renew or may cancel their service contracts with us, which could negatively affect future revenues and profitability. After our second-generation satellite constellation becomes operational, we may face challenge in maintaining our existing subscriber base for two-way communications service because we plan then to increase prices, consistent with market conditions, to reflect our improved two-way service and coverage.
Our customers include multiple agencies of the U.S. government. Service sales to U.S. government agencies constituted approximately 11% and 10% of our total service revenue for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively. Government sales are made pursuant to individual purchase orders placed from time to time by the governmental agencies and are not related to long-term contracts. U.S. government agencies may terminate their business with us at any time without penalty and are subject to changes in government budgets and appropriations.
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Our business is subject to extensive government regulation, which mandates how we may operate our business and may increase our cost of providing services, slow our expansion into new markets and subject our services to additional competitive pressures.
Our ownership and operation of wireless communication systems are subject to significant regulation in the United States by the FCC and in foreign jurisdictions by similar local authorities. The rules and regulations of the FCC or these foreign authorities may change and may not continue to permit our operations as presently conducted or as we plan to conduct them. For example, the FCC has cancelled and refused to date to reinstate our license for spectrum in the 2 GHz band and has since licensed this spectrum to other entities for their mobile satellite service systems.
Failure to provide services in accordance with the terms of our licenses or failure to operate our satellites, ground stations, or other terrestrial facilities (including those necessary to provide ATC services) as required by our licenses and applicable government regulations could result in the imposition of government sanctions against us, up to and including cancellation of our licenses.
The FCC may require us to obtain separate authorization to launch and operate replacement satellites if it concludes that these satellites are not "technically identical" to those authorized by our existing license. Although we believe that our replacement satellites will be "technically identical" in this fashion, we cannot assure you that the FCC will reach a similar conclusion. If the FCC reaches a different conclusion, we may need to obtain a separate FCC authority prior to launching or operating these replacement satellites, which authority may not be obtained.
Our system must be authorized in each of the markets in which we or the independent gateway operators provide service. We and the independent gateway operators may not be able to obtain or retain all regulatory approvals needed for operations. For example, the company with which Old Globalstar contracted to establish an independent gateway operation in South Africa was unable to obtain an operating license from the Republic of South Africa and abandoned the business in 2001. Regulatory changes, such as those resulting from judicial decisions or adoption of treaties, legislation or regulation in countries where we operate or intend to operate, may also significantly affect our business. Because regulations in each country are different, we may not be aware if some of the independent gateway operators and/or persons with which we or they do business do not hold the requisite licenses and approvals.
Our current regulatory approvals could now be, or could become, insufficient in the view of foreign regulatory authorities. Furthermore, any additional necessary approvals may not be granted on a timely basis, or at all, in all jurisdictions in which we wish to offer services, and applicable restrictions in those jurisdictions could become unduly burdensome.
Our operations are subject to certain regulations of the United States State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (i.e., the export of satellites and related technical data), United States Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (i.e., financial transactions) and the United States Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (i.e., our gateways and phones). These regulations may limit or delay our ability to operate in a particular country. As new laws and regulations are issued, we may be required to modify our business plans or operations. If we fail to comply with these regulations in any country, we could be subject to sanctions that could affect, materially and adversely, our ability to operate in that country. Failure to obtain the authorizations necessary to use our assigned radio frequency spectrum and to distribute our products in certain countries could have a material adverse effect on our ability to generate revenue and on our overall competitive position.
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If we do not develop, acquire and maintain proprietary information and intellectual property rights, it could limit the growth of our business and reduce our market share.
Our business depends on technical knowledge, and we believe that our future success is based, in part, on our ability to keep up with new technological developments and incorporate them in our products and services. We own or have the right to use our patents, work products, inventions, designs, software, systems and similar know-how. Although we have taken diligent steps to protect that information, the information may be disclosed to others or others may independently develop similar information, systems and know-how. Protection of our information, systems and know-how may result in litigation, the cost of which could be substantial. Third parties may assert claims that our products or services infringe on their proprietary rights. Any such claims, if made, may prevent or limit our sales of products or services or increase our costs of sales. Although no third party has filed a lawsuit or asserted a written claim against us for allegedly infringing on its proprietary rights, such claims could be made in the future.
Much of the software we require to support critical gateway operations is licensed from third parties, including QUALCOMM and Space Systems/Loral Inc., and was developed or customized specifically for our use. Software to support customer service functions, such as billing, is also licensed from third parties and was developed or customized specifically for our use. If the third party licensors were to cease to support and service the software, or the licenses were to no longer be available on commercially reasonable terms, it may be difficult, expensive or impossible to obtain such services from alternative vendors. Replacing such software could be difficult, time consuming and expensive, and might require us to obtain substitute technology with lower quality or performance standards or at a greater cost.
We face special risks by doing business in developing markets, including currency and expropriation risks, which could increase our costs or reduce our revenues in these areas.
Although our most economically important geographic markets currently are the United States and Canada, we have substantial markets for our mobile satellite services in, and our business plan includes, developing countries or regions that are underserved by existing telecommunications systems, such as rural Venezuela and Central America. Developing countries are more likely than industrialized countries to experience market, currency and interest rate fluctuations and may have higher inflation. In addition, these countries present risks relating to government policy, price, wage and exchange controls, social instability, expropriation and other adverse economic, political and diplomatic conditions.
Although a majority of our revenues are received in U.S. dollars, and our independent gateway operators are required to pay us in U.S. dollars, limited availability of U.S. currency in some local markets or governmental controls on the export of currency may prevent an independent gateway operator from making payments in U.S. dollars or delay the availability of payment due to foreign bank currency processing and approval. In addition, exchange rate fluctuations may affect our ability to control the prices charged for the independent gateway operators' services.
Fluctuations in currency exchange rates may adversely impact our financial results.
Our operations involve transactions in a variety of currencies. Sales denominated in foreign currencies primarily involve the Canadian dollar and the Euro. A substantial majority of our obligations, including the funds held in escrow to secure our payment obligations, under the contract for construction of our second-generation satellite constellation are denominated in Euros. Accordingly, our operating results may be significantly affected by fluctuations in the exchange rates for these currencies, and increases in the value of the Euro compared to the U.S. dollar have effectively substantially increased the Euro-denominated costs of procuring our second-generation satellite
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constellation and related ground facilities. Further declines in the dollar will exacerbate this problem. A 1% decline in the dollar vis-à-vis the Euro would increase our committed purchase obligations by approximately $7.4 million. Approximately 37% and 33% of our total sales were to retail customers in Canada, Europe and Venezuela during the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively. Our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006 reflected income of $8.2 million and a loss of $4.0 million, respectively, on foreign currency transactions. Our exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates has increased significantly as a result of our satellite contracts. We may be unable to offset unfavorable currency movements as they adversely effect our revenue and expenses or to hedge them effectively. Our inability to do so could have a substantial negative impact on our operating results and cash flows.
If we become subject to unanticipated foreign tax liabilities, it could materially increase our costs.
We operate in various foreign tax jurisdictions. We believe that we have complied in all material respects with our obligations to pay taxes in these jurisdictions. However, our position is subject to review and possible challenge by the taxing authorities of these jurisdictions. If the applicable taxing authorities were to challenge successfully our current tax positions, or if there were changes in the manner in which we conduct our activities, we could become subject to material unanticipated tax liabilities. We may also become subject to additional tax liabilities as a result of changes in tax laws, which could in certain circumstances have a retroactive effect.
We rely on a limited number of key vendors for timely supply of equipment and services. If our key vendors fail to provide equipment and services to us, we may face difficulties in finding alternative sources and may not be able to operate our business successfully.
We depend on QUALCOMM for gateway hardware and software, and also as the exclusive manufacturer of phones using the IS 41 CDMA North American standard, which incorporates QUALCOMM proprietary technology. Ericsson OMC Limited and Telit, which until 2000 manufactured phones and other products for us, have discontinued manufacturing these products, and QUALCOMM may choose to terminate its business relationship with us when its current contractual obligations are completed in approximately three years. In addition, we currently have a maintenance and support contract with QUALCOMM that we must negotiate annually. If QUALCOMM terminates any one of these relationships, we may not be able to find a replacement supplier. Although the QUALCOMM relationship might be replaced, there could be a substantial period of time in which our products or services are not available and any new relationship may involve a significantly different cost structure, development schedule and delivery times.
We depend on Axonn L.L.C. to produce and sell the data modems through which we provide our Simplex service, including our new SPOT satellite messenger products, which incorporate Axonn proprietary technology. Axonn is currently our sole source for obtaining these data modems. If Axonn were to cease producing and selling these data modems, in order to continue to expand our Simplex service, we would either have to acquire from Axonn the right to have the modems manufactured by another vendor or develop a modem that did not rely on Axonn's proprietary technology. We have no long-term contract with Axonn for the production and sale of these data modems.
Pursuing strategic transactions may cause us to incur additional risks.
We may pursue acquisitions, joint ventures or other strategic transactions on an opportunistic basis, although no such transactions that would be financially significant to us are probable at this time. We may face costs and risks arising from any such transactions, including integrating a new business into our business or managing a joint venture. These may include legal, organizational, financial and other costs and risks.
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In addition, if we were to choose to engage in any major business combination or similar strategic transaction, we may require significant external financing in connection with the transaction. Depending on market conditions, investor perceptions of us and other factors, we may not be able to obtain capital on acceptable terms, in acceptable amounts or at appropriate times to implement any such transaction. Any such financing, if obtained, may further dilute our existing stockholders.
Our indebtedness could impair our ability to react to changes in our business and may limit our ability to use debt to fund future capital needs.
Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition. If the $150.0 million in committed facilities under our restated and amended credit agreement had been drawn fully at December 31, 2007, our indebtedness would have been $150.0 million. This would have resulted in annual interest expense of approximately $16.5 million, assuming an interest rate of 11.0%. In addition, we anticipate incurring additional indebtedness in connection with our future business plans. Our indebtedness could:
Furthermore, if an event of default were to occur with respect to our credit agreement or other indebtedness, our creditors could accelerate the maturity of our indebtedness. Our indebtedness under our credit agreement is secured by a lien on substantially all of our assets and the assets of our domestic subsidiaries and the lenders could foreclose on these assets to repay the indebtedness.
Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance indebtedness obligations depends on our financial condition and operating performance, which are subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business and other factors beyond our control. We may not be able to maintain a level of cash flows from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems and could be forced to sell assets, seek additional capital or seek to restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful or feasible. Our credit agreement restricts our ability to sell assets. Even if we could consummate those sales, the proceeds that we realize from them may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due.
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We plan to incur additional indebtedness or other obligations in the future, which would exacerbate the risks discussed above.
Our credit agreement permits us to incur, in addition to the $150.0 million of revolving credit and delayed draw term loans that Thermo Funding Company LLC, or Thermo Funding, has advanced under the credit agreement, other indebtedness under certain conditions, including up to $250.0 million of additional equally and ratably secured, pari passu, term loans, up to $200.0 million of unsecured debt and up to $25.0 million of purchase money indebtedness or capitalized leases. We may incur this additional indebtedness only if no event of default under our credit agreement then exists and if we are in pro forma compliance with all of the financial covenants of our credit agreement. Our credit agreement also permits us to incur obligations that do not constitute "indebtedness" as defined in the credit agreement, including obligations to satellite vendors that are not evidenced by a note and not secured by assets other than those purchased with such obligations. To the extent additional debt or other obligations are added to our currently anticipated debt levels, the substantial indebtedness risks described above would increase.
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under such indebtedness, which may not be successful.
A decrease in interest rates will cause us to incur a further loss on our derivative instrument.
We utilize a derivative instrument in the form of an interest rate swap agreement to minimize our risk from interest rate fluctuations relating to our variable rate credit agreement. The swap agreement does not qualify for hedge accounting treatment. Accordingly, changes in the fair value of the agreement must be recognized as "Interest rate derivative gain (loss)" over the life of the agreement. In 2007 and 2006, we recognized losses of $3.2 million and $2.7 million, respectively, on this agreement. Further decreases in market interest rates will result in us incurring further losses.
Restrictive covenants in our credit agreement impose restrictions that may limit our operating and financial flexibility.
Our credit agreement contains a number of significant restrictions and covenants that limit our ability to:
Complying with these restrictive covenants, as well as those that may be contained in any agreements governing future indebtedness, including any Debt Securities, may impair our ability to
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finance our operations or capital needs or to take advantage of other favorable business opportunities. Our ability to comply with these restrictive covenants will depend on our future performance, which may be affected by events beyond our control. If we violate any of these covenants and are unable to obtain waivers, we would be in default under the agreement and payment of the indebtedness could be accelerated. The acceleration of our indebtedness under one agreement may permit acceleration of indebtedness under other agreements that contain cross-default or cross-acceleration provisions. If our indebtedness is accelerated, we may not be able to repay our indebtedness or borrow sufficient funds to refinance it. Even if we are able to obtain new financing, it may not be on commercially reasonable terms or on terms that are acceptable to us. If our indebtedness is in default for any reason, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, complying with these covenants may also cause us to take actions that are not favorable to holders of the common stock and may make it more difficult for us to successfully execute our business plan and compete against companies who are not subject to such restrictions. Furthermore, our ability to draw on our credit facility is subject to conditions, including the absence of a material adverse change after September 30, 2007 in our business or financial condition, other than a change resulting from existing and future first-generation satellite constellation degradation or failure issues.
We are a defendant in a shareholder class action lawsuit arising out of our initial public offering in 2006 and consumer class action lawsuits and we may be involved in additional litigation in the future.
On February 9, 2007, the first of three purported class action lawsuits was filed against us, our Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") and our Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging that our registration statement related to our initial public offering ("IPO") in November 2006 contained material misstatements and omissions. The Court consolidated the three cases as Ladmen Partners, Inc. v. Globalstar, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:07-CV-0976 (LAP), and appointed Connecticut Laborers' Pension Fund as lead plaintiff. On August 15, 2007, the lead plaintiff filed its Securities Class Action Consolidated Amended Complaint. The Amended Complaint reasserts claims against us and our CEO and CFO, and adds as defendants the three co-lead underwriters of the IPO, Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC, JPMorgan Securities, Inc. and Jefferies & Company, Inc. It cites a drop in the trading price of our common stock that followed our filing, on February 5, 2007, of a Current Report of Form 8-K relating in part to changes in the condition of our satellite constellation. It seeks, on behalf of a class of purchasers of our common stock who purchased shares in the IPO, recovery of damages under Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 and rescission under Section 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933. On November 15, 2007, plaintiffs filed their Second Amended Complaint. Defendants' response and motion to dismiss was filed on February 15, 2008. The Plaintiff's response to these motions is due April 15, 2008 in accordance with the Court's scheduling order. We intend to continue to defend the matter vigorously.
On April 7, 2007, Kenneth Stickrath and Sharan Stickrath filed a purported class action complaint against us in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Case No: 07-CV-01941 THE). The complaint is based on alleged violations of California Business & Professions Code § 17200 and California Civil Code § 1750, et seq., the Consumers' Legal Remedies Act. Plaintiffs allege that members of the proposed class suffered damages from March 2003 to the present because we did not perform according to our representations with respect to coverage and reliability. Plaintiffs claim that the amount in controversy exceeds $5.0 million but do not allege any particular actual damages incurred. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on June 29, 2007, and we filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on July 6, 2007. On September 25, 2007, the court issued an order granting in part and denying in part our motion. Subsequently, on October 17, 2007, the plaintiffs filed their Second Amended Complaint, and we filed our Objections to Plaintiffs' First Set of Requests for Production of Documents. A hearing on our motion to dismiss the Second Amended Compliant was held on February 5, 2008. On February 6, 2008, the judge granted our motion in part and denied it in part. Discovery related solely to the issue of certification of the class is ongoing.
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On April 24, 2007, Mr. Jean-Pierre Barrette filed a motion for Authorization to Institute a Class Action in Quebec, Canada, Superior Court against Globalstar Canada. Mr. Barrette asserts claims based on Quebec law related to his alleged problems with Globalstar Canada's service. We moved to disqualify Mr. Barrette because of his association with the law firm representing plaintiffs and to transfer the case to the district of Montreal. The court recently granted our motion for a change of venue, and plaintiff's counsel substituted a new designated representative of the purported class. The case is now known as Steve Poisson v. Globalstar Canada Satellite Co., No. 500-06-000417-077. Plaintiff has not specified what remedies he is seeking.
We cannot assure you that we will prevail in these lawsuits. Failure to prevail in any or all actions could have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows in the future.
In addition, in the past, we have, and may in the future, become subject to other types of litigation. Litigation is often expensive and diverts management's attention and resources, which could materially and adversely affect our business.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
We do not expect to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.
We do not expect to pay cash dividends on our common stock, including any common stock offered. Any future dividend payments are within the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, working capital requirements, capital expenditure requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions, business opportunities, anticipated cash needs, provisions of applicable law and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. We may not generate sufficient cash from operations in the future to pay dividends on our common stock. Our credit agreement currently prohibits the payment of cash dividends.
The market price of our common stock is volatile and there is a limited market for our shares.
The trading price of our common stock is subject to wide fluctuations. Factors affecting the trading price of our common stock may include:
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The trading price of our common stock might also decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry even if these events do not directly affect us. You may be unable to resell your shares of our common stock at or above the initial purchase price. Additionally, because we are a controlled company there is a limited market for our common stock and we cannot assure you that a trading market will develop further or be maintained.
Trading volume for our common stock historically has been low. Sales of significant amounts of shares of our common stock in the public market could lower the market price of our stock.
The future issuance of additional shares of our common stock could cause dilution of ownership interests and adversely affect our stock price.
We may in the future issue our previously authorized and unissued securities, resulting in the dilution of the ownership interests of our current stockholders. We are currently authorized to issue 800 million shares of common stock, of which approximately 83.7 million were issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2007 and 716.3 million were available for future issuance. The potential issuance of such additional shares of common stock, whether directly or pursuant to any conversion right of any convertible securities, may create downward pressure on the trading price of our common stock. We may also issue additional shares of our common stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for common stock for capital raising or other business purposes. Future sales of substantial amounts of common stock, or the perception that sales could occur, could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Holders of Debt Securities sold pursuant to this prospectus will be preferred in right of payment to the holder of our preferred and common stock.
We may issue shares of preferred stock or debt securities with greater rights than our common stock.
Subject to the rules of The NASDAQ Global Select Market, our certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to issue one or more series of preferred stock and set the terms of the preferred stock without seeking any further approval from holders of our common stock. Currently, there are 100 million shares of preferred stock authorized but none issued. Any preferred stock that is issued may rank ahead of our common stock in terms of dividends, priority and liquidation premiums and may have greater voting rights than holders of our common stock.
If persons engage in short sales of our common stock, the price of our common stock may decline.
Selling short is a technique used by a stockholder to take advantage of an anticipated decline in the price of a security. A significant number of short sales or a large volume of other sales within a relatively short period of time can create downward pressure on the market price of a security. Further sales of common stock could cause even greater declines in the price of our common stock due to the number of additional shares available in the market, which could encourage short sales that could further undermine the value of our common stock. Holders of our securities could, therefore, experience a decline in the value of their investment as a result of short sales of our common stock.
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Provisions in our charter documents and credit agreement and provisions of Delaware law may discourage takeovers, which could affect the rights of holders of our common stock.
Provisions of Delaware law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and our credit agreement could hamper a third party's acquisition of us or discourage a third party from attempting to acquire control of us. These provisions include:
We also are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits us from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder, as defined in that section, for a period of three years following the date on which that stockholder became an interested stockholder. This provision does not apply to Thermo, which became our principal stockholder prior to our initial public offering.
These provisions also could make it more difficult for you and our other stockholders to elect directors and take other corporate actions, and could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.
We are controlled by Thermo, whose interests may conflict with yours.
As of December 31, 2007, Thermo owned approximately 62% of our outstanding common stock. Thermo is able to control the election of all of the members of our board of directors and the vote on substantially all other matters, including significant corporate transactions such as the approval of a merger or other transaction involving our sale.
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We have depended substantially on Thermo to provide capital to finance our business. In 2006 and 2007, Thermo Funding purchased an aggregate of $200 million of our common stock at prices substantially above market. On December 17, 2007, Thermo Funding assumed all of the obligations and was assigned all of the rights (other than indemnification rights) of the administrative agent and the lenders under our amended and restated credit agreement. As of December 31, 2007, we were indebted to Thermo Funding under this credit agreement in the amount of $50 million, and we borrowed the remaining $100 million available under this credit agreement in January and February, 2008. These loans are secured by a first lien on the assets of Globalstar and its domestic subsidiaries, other than our FCC licenses. Thermo is not obligated to provide any additional capital to us.
Thermo is controlled by James Monroe III, our chairman and chief executive officer. Through Thermo, Mr. Monroe holds equity interests in, and serves as an executive officer or director of, a diverse group of privately-owned businesses not otherwise related to us. Although Mr. Monroe receives no compensation from us, he has advised us that he intends to devote whatever portion of his time is necessary to perform his duties as our chairman and chief executive officer. We do reimburse Thermo and Mr. Monroe for certain expenses they incur in connection with our business.
The interests of Thermo may conflict with the interests of our other stockholders. Thermo may take actions it believes will benefit its equity investment in us or loans to us even though such actions might not be in your best interests as a holder of our common stock.
As a "controlled company," as defined in the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules, we qualify for, and rely on, exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Thermo owns common stock representing more than a majority of the voting power in election of our directors. As a result, we are considered a "controlled company" within the meaning of the corporate governance standards in the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules. Under these rules, a "controlled company" may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirement that a majority of its board of directors consist of independent directors, the requirement that it have a nominating/corporate governance committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee's purpose and responsibilities and the requirement that it have a compensation committee that is composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee's purpose and responsibilities. We have elected to be treated as a controlled company and thus utilize these exemptions. As a result, we do not have a majority of independent directors nor so we have compensation and nominating/corporate governance committees consisting entirely of independent directors. Accordingly, you do not have the same protection afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the NASDAQ Marketplace corporate governance requirements.
Our pre-emptive rights offering, which we intend to commence in the future, is not in strict compliance with the technical requirements of our prior certificate of incorporation.
Our certificate of incorporation as in effect when we entered into the irrevocable standby stock purchase agreement with Thermo Funding provided that stockholders who are accredited investors (as defined under the Securities Act) were entitled to pre-emptive rights with respect to the transaction with Thermo Funding. We intend to offer our stockholders as of June 15, 2006 who are accredited investors the opportunity to participate in the transaction contemplated by the irrevocable standby stock purchase agreement with Thermo Funding on a pro rata basis on substantially the same terms as Thermo Funding. Some of our stockholders could allege that the offering does not comply fully with the terms of our prior certificate of incorporation. Although we believe any variance from the requirements of our former certificate of incorporation is immaterial and that we had valid reasons for delaying the pre-emptive rights offering until after our initial public offering, a court may not agree
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with our position if these stockholders allege that we have violated their pre-emptive rights. In that case, we can not predict the type of remedy the court could award such stockholders.
The pre-emptive rights offering, which we are required to make to our existing stockholders, will be done on a registered basis, and may negatively affect the trading price of our stock.
The pre-emptive rights offering will be made pursuant to a registration statement filed with, and potentially reviewed by, the SEC. After giving effect to waivers that we have already received, up to 785,328 shares of our common stock may be purchased if the pre-emptive rights offering is fully subscribed. Such shares may be purchased at approximately $16.17 per share, regardless of the trading price of our common stock. The nature of the pre-emptive rights offering may negatively affect the trading price of our common stock.
Risks Related to Debt Securities
If an active trading market does not develop for a series of Debt Securities sold pursuant to this prospectus, you may be unable to sell any such Debt Securities or to sell any such Debt Securities at a price that you deem sufficient.
Unless otherwise specified in an accompanying prospectus supplement, any Debt Securities sold pursuant to this prospectus will be new securities for which there currently is no established trading market. We may elect not to list any Debt Securities sold pursuant to this prospectus on a national securities exchange. While the underwriters of a particular offering of Debt Securities may advise us that they intend to make a market in those Debt Securities, the underwriters will not be obligated to do so and may stop their market making at any time. No assurance can be given:
Holders of any Debt Securities sold pursuant to this prospectus may be effectively subordinated to all of our secured indebtedness.
Holders of our secured indebtedness, including the indebtedness under our secured credit facility, have claims with respect to all or virtually all of our assets constituting collateral for their indebtedness. These claims will be prior to the claims of any Debt Securities sold pursuant to this prospectus. In the event of a default on any Debt Securities or our bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization, those assets would be available to satisfy obligations with respect to the indebtedness secured thereby before any payment could be made on Debt Securities sold pursuant to this prospectus. Accordingly, the secured indebtedness would effectively be senior to any series of Debt Securities to the extent of the value of the collateral securing the indebtedness. To the extent the value of the collateral is not sufficient to satisfy the secured indebtedness, the holders of that indebtedness would be entitled to share with the holders of the Debt Securities issued pursuant to this prospectus and the holders of other claims against us with respect to our other assets.
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Except as may be stated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds we receive from any sales of securities by us under this prospectus to pursue our business strategy and for general corporate purposes, which may include capital expenditures relating to procuring and deploying our second-generation satellite constellation and related ground facilities, acquiring independent gateway operators and increasing our working capital. We have not determined the amount of net proceeds from the sale of any of the securities that may be offered pursuant to this prospectus and any prospectus supplement that we will use for each of these purposes. Pending the application of the net proceeds, we expect to invest the proceeds in short-term, investment grade, interest bearing securities.
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RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
The following table contains our consolidated ratios of earnings to fixed charges for the periods indicated.
| Years Ended December 31, |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
||||
| * | * | 51.65 | 6.38 | * | ||||
The ratios were computed by dividing earnings by fixed charges. For this purpose:
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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
The Debt Securities will be either our senior debt securities ("Senior Debt Securities") or our subordinated debt securities ("Subordinated Debt Securities"). The Senior Debt Securities and the Subordinated Debt Securities will be issued under separate Indentures between us and U.S. Bank, National Association (the "Trustee"). Senior Debt Securities will be issued under a "Senior Indenture" and Subordinated Debt Securities will be issued under a "Subordinated Indenture." Together, the Senior Indenture and the Subordinated Indenture are called "Indentures."
The Debt Securities may be issued from time to time in one or more series. The particular terms of each series that are offered by a prospectus supplement will be described in the prospectus supplement.
Unless the Debt Securities are guaranteed by our subsidiaries, the rights of Globalstar and our creditors, including holders of the Debt Securities, to participate in the assets of any subsidiary upon the latter's liquidation or reorganization, will be subject to the prior claims of the subsidiaries' creditors, except to the extent that we may be a creditor with recognized claims against such subsidiary.
We have summarized selected provisions of the Indentures we will enter into below. The summary is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to all the provisions of the Indentures and any supplemental indenture to a particular series of Debt Securities. The Indentures will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended. The form of each Indenture has been filed with the SEC as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or with the prospectus supplement under which the Debt Securities are issued, and you should read the Indentures for provisions that may be important to you. Capitalized terms used in the summary have the meanings specified in the Indentures.
Words and phrases capitalized but not defined under "Description of Debt Securities" have the respective meanings ascribed to them in the Indentures.
General
The Indentures will provide that Debt Securities in separate series may be issued thereunder from time to time without limitation as to aggregate principal amount. We may specify a maximum aggregate principal amount for the Debt Securities of any series. We will determine the terms and conditions of the Debt Securities, including the maturity, principal and interest, but those terms must be consistent with the Indenture. The Debt Securities will be our unsecured obligations.
The Subordinated Debt Securities will be subordinated in right of payment to the prior payment in full of all of our Senior Debt as described under "—Subordination of Subordinated Debt Securities" and in the prospectus supplement applicable to any Subordinated Debt Securities. If the prospectus supplement so indicates, the Debt Securities will be convertible into our common stock.
The applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the price or prices at which the Debt Securities to be offered will be issued and will describe the following terms of such Debt Securities:
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Debt Securities, including any Debt Securities which provide for an amount less than the principal amount thereof to be due and payable upon a declaration of acceleration of the Maturity thereof ("Original Issue Discount Securities"), may be sold at a substantial discount below their principal amount. Special United States federal income tax considerations applicable to Debt Securities sold at an original issue discount may be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. In addition, special United States federal income tax or other considerations applicable to any Debt Securities that are denominated in a currency or currency unit other than United States dollars may be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Subordination of Subordinated Debt Securities
The indebtedness evidenced by the Subordinated Debt Securities will, to the extent set forth in the Subordinated Indenture with respect to each series of Subordinated Debt Securities, be subordinate in right of payment to the prior payment in full of all of our Senior Debt, including the Senior Debt Securities, and it may also be senior in right of payment to all of our subordinated debt. The prospectus supplement relating to any Subordinated Debt Securities will summarize the subordination provisions of the Subordinated Indenture applicable to that series including:
The prospectus supplement will also describe as of a recent date the approximate amount of Senior Debt to which the Subordinated Debt Securities of that series will be subordinated.
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The failure to make any payment on any of the Subordinated Debt Securities by reason of the subordination provisions of the Subordinated Indenture described in the prospectus supplement will not be construed as preventing the occurrence of an Event of Default with respect to the Subordinated Debt Securities arising from any such failure to make payment.
The subordination provisions described above will not be applicable to payments in respect of the Subordinated Debt Securities from a defeasance trust established in connection with any legal defeasance or covenant defeasance of the Subordinated Debt Securities as described under "—Legal Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance."
Conversion or Exchange Rights
The terms, if any, on which a series of Debt Securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for common stock or other securities will be detailed in the prospectus supplement relating thereto. Such terms will include provisions as to whether conversion or exchange is mandatory, at the option of Holders, or at our option, the conversion price and the conversion period, and may include provisions pursuant to which the number of shares of our common stock or other securities to be received by Holders of such series of Debt Securities would be subject to adjustment.
Form, Exchange and Transfer
The Debt Securities of each series will be issuable only in fully registered form, without coupons, and, unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, only in denominations of $1,000 and integral multiples thereof.
At the option of the Holder, subject to the terms of the applicable Indenture and the limitations applicable to Global Securities, Debt Securities of each series will be exchangeable for other Debt Securities of the same series of any authorized denomination and of a like tenor and aggregate principal amount.
Subject to the terms of the applicable Indenture and the limitations applicable to Global Securities, Debt Securities may be presented for exchange as provided above or for registration of transfer (duly endorsed or with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly executed) at the office of the Security Registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us for such purpose. No service charge will be made for any registration of transfer or exchange of Debt Securities, but we may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in that connection. Such transfer or exchange will be effected upon the Security Registrar or such transfer agent, as the case may be, being satisfied with the documents of title and identity of the person making the request. The Security Registrar and any other transfer agent initially designated by us for any Debt Securities will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement. We may at any time designate additional transfer agents or rescind the designation of any transfer agent or approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, except that we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each Place of Payment for the Debt Securities of each series.
If the Debt Securities of any series (or of any series and specified tenor) are to be redeemed in part, we will not be required to (1) issue, register the transfer of or exchange any Debt Security of that series (or of that series and specified tenor, as the case may be) during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of any such Debt Security that may be selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of such mailing or (2) register the transfer of or exchange any Debt Security so selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any such Debt Security being redeemed in part.
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Global Securities
Some or all of the Debt Securities of any series may be represented, in whole or in part, by one or more Global Securities that will have an aggregate principal amount equal to that of the Debt Securities they represent. Each Global Security will be registered in the name of a Depositary or its nominee identified in the applicable prospectus supplement, will be deposited with such Depositary or nominee or its custodian and will bear a legend regarding the restrictions on exchanges and registration of transfer thereof referred to below and any such other matters as may be provided for pursuant to the applicable Indenture.
Notwithstanding any provision of the Indentures or any Debt Security described in this prospectus, no Global Security may be exchanged in whole or in part for Debt Securities registered, and no transfer of a Global Security in whole or in part may be registered, in the name of any person other than the Depositary for such Global Security or any nominee of such Depositary unless:
All certificated Debt Securities issued in exchange for a Global Security or any portion thereof will be registered in such names as the Depositary may direct.
As long as the Depositary, or its nominee, is the registered holder of a Global Security, the Depositary or such nominee, as the case may be, will be considered the sole owner and holder of such Global Security and the Debt Securities that it represents for all purposes under the Debt Securities and the applicable Indenture. Except in the limited circumstances referred to above, owners of beneficial interests in a Global Security will not be entitled to have such Global Security or any Debt Securities that it represents registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of certificated Debt Securities in exchange for those interests and will not be considered to be the owners or Holders of such Global Security or any Debt Securities that it represents for any purpose under the Debt Securities or the applicable Indenture. All payments on a Global Security will be made to the Depositary or its nominee, as the case may be, as the Holder of the security. The laws of some jurisdictions require that some purchasers of Debt Securities take physical delivery of such Debt Securities in certificated form. These laws may impair the ability to transfer beneficial interests in a Global Security.
Ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Security will be limited to institutions that have accounts with the Depositary or its nominee ("participants") and to persons that may hold beneficial interests through participants. In connection with the issuance of any Global Security, the Depositary will credit, on its book-entry registration and transfer system, the respective principal amounts of Debt Securities represented by the Global Security to the accounts of its participants. Ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Security will be shown only on, and the transfer of those ownership interests will be effected only through, records maintained by the Depositary (with respect to participants' interests) or any such participant (with respect to interests of persons held by such participants on their behalf). Payments, transfers, exchanges and other matters relating to beneficial interests in a Global Security may be subject to various policies and procedures adopted by the Depositary from time to time. None of us, the Trustees or our respective agents will have any responsibility or liability for any aspect of the Depositary's or any participant's records relating to, or
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for payments made on account of, beneficial interests in a Global Security, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to such beneficial interests.
Payment and Paying Agents
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, payment of interest on a Debt Security on any Interest Payment Date will be made to the Person in whose name such Debt Security (or one or more Predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business on the Regular Record Date for such interest.
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, principal of and any premium and interest on the Debt Securities of a particular series will be payable at the office of such Paying Agent or Paying Agents as we may designate for such purpose from time to time, except that at our option payment of any interest on Debt Securities in certificated loan may be made by check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address appears in the Security Register. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, the corporate trust office of the Trustee under the Senior Indenture in The City of New York will be designated as sole Paying Agent for payments with respect to Senior Debt Securities of each series, and the corporate trust office of the Trustee under the Subordinated Indenture in The City of New York will be designated as the sole Paying Agent for payment with respect to Subordinated Debt Securities of each series. Any other Paying Agents initially designated by us for the Debt Securities of a particular series will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement. We may at any time designate additional Paying Agents or rescind the designation of any Paying Agent or approve a change in the office through which any Paying Agent acts, except that we will be required to maintain a Paying Agent in each Place of Payment for the Debt Securities of a particular series.
All money paid by us to a Paying Agent for the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on any Debt Security which remain unclaimed at the end of two years after such principal, premium or interest has become due and payable will be repaid to us, and the Holder of such Debt Security thereafter may look only to us for payment.
Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets
Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, we may not consolidate with or merge into, or sell, convey, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our properties and assets to, any Person, and shall not permit any other Person to consolidate with or merge into us, unless:
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Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, it is anticipated that each of the following will constitute an Event of Default under the applicable Indenture with respect to Debt Securities of any series:
If an Event of Default (other than an Event of Default with respect to Globalstar, Inc. described in clause (6) above) with respect to the Debt Securities of any series at the time Outstanding occurs and is continuing, either the applicable Trustee or the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the Outstanding Debt Securities of that series by notice as provided in the applicable Indenture may declare the principal amount of the Debt Securities of that series (or, in the case of any Debt Security that is an Original Issue Discount Debt Security, such portion of the principal amount of such Debt Security as may be specified in the terms of such Debt Security) to be due and payable immediately, together with any accrued and unpaid interest thereon. If an Event of Default with respect to Globalstar, Inc. described in clause (6) above with respect to the Debt Securities of any series at the time Outstanding occurs, the principal amount of all the Debt Securities of that series (or, in the case of any such Original Issue Discount Security, such specified amount) will automatically, and without any action by the applicable Trustee or any Holder, become immediately due and payable, together with any accrued and unpaid interest thereon. After any such acceleration, but before a judgment or decree based on acceleration, the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Outstanding Debt Securities of that series may, under certain circumstances, rescind and annul such acceleration if all Events of Default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal (or other specified amount), have been cured or waived as provided in the applicable Indenture. For information as to waiver of defaults, see "—Modification and Waiver" below.
Subject to the provisions in the Indentures relating to the duties of the Trustees in case an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, each Trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under the applicable Indenture at the request or direction of any of the Holders, unless such Holders have offered to such Trustee reasonable security or indemnity. Subject to such provisions for the indemnification of the Trustees, the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Outstanding Debt Securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of
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conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the Trustee with respect to the Debt Securities of that series.
No Holder of a Debt Security of any series will have any right to institute any proceeding with respect to the applicable Indenture, or for the appointment of a receiver or a trustee, or for any other remedy thereunder, unless:
However, such limitations do not apply to a suit instituted by a Holder of a Debt Security for the enforcement of payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on such Debt Security on or after the applicable due date specified in such Debt Security.
We will be required to furnish to each Trustee annually, within 150 days after the end of each fiscal year, a certificate by certain of our officers as to whether or not we, to their knowledge, are in default in the performance or observance of any of the terms, provisions and conditions of the applicable Indenture and, if so, specifying all such known defaults.
Modification and Waiver
Unless otherwise specified in the prospectus supplement, modifications and amendments of an Indenture may be made by us and the applicable Trustee with the consent of the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Outstanding Debt Securities of each series affected by such modification or amendment; provided, however, that no such modification or amendment may, without the consent of the Holder of each Outstanding Debt Security affected thereby:
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The Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Outstanding Debt Securities of any series may waive compliance by us with certain restrictive provisions of the applicable Indenture. The Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Outstanding Debt Securities of any series may waive any past default under the applicable Indenture, except a default in the payment of principal, premium or interest and certain covenants and provisions of the Indenture which cannot be amended without the consent of the Holder of each Outstanding Debt Security of such series.
Each of the Indentures provides that in determining whether the Holders of the requisite principal amount of the Outstanding Debt Securities have given or taken any direction, notice, consent, waiver or other action under such Indenture as of any date:
Except in certain limited circumstances, we will be entitled to set any day as a record date for the purpose of determining the holders of Outstanding Debt Securities of any series entitled to give or take any direction, notice, consent, waiver or other action under the applicable Indenture, in the manner and subject to the limitations provided in the Indenture. In certain limited circumstances, the Trustee will be entitled to set a record date for action by Holders. If a record date is set for any action to be taken by Holders of a particular series, only persons who are Holders of Outstanding Debt Securities of that series on the record date may take such action.
Satisfaction and Discharge
Each Indenture will be discharged and will cease to be of further effect as to all outstanding Debt Securities of any series issued thereunder, when:
and in either case we have irrevocably deposited with the Trustee as trust funds for such purpose money in an amount sufficient, without consideration of any reinvestment of interest, to pay and discharge the entire indebtedness of such Debt Securities not delivered to the Trustee for
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cancellation, for principal, premium, if any, and accrued interest to the date of such deposit (in the case of Debt Securities that have become due and payable) or to the Stated Maturity or redemption date;
Legal Defeasance and Covenant Defeasance
If and to the extent indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we may elect, at our option at any time, to have provisions of the Indentures relating to defeasance and discharge of indebtedness, which we call "legal defeasance," relating to defeasance of certain restrictive covenants applied to the Debt Securities of any series, or to any specified part of a series, which we call "covenant defeasance."
Legal Defeasance. The Indentures provide that, upon our exercise of our option (if any) to have the provisions relating to legal defeasance applied to any Debt Securities, we will be discharged from all our obligations, and, if such Debt Securities are Subordinated Debt Securities, the provisions of the Subordinated Indenture relating to subordination will cease to be effective, with respect to such Debt Securities (except for certain obligations to convert, exchange or register the transfer of Debt Securities, to replace stolen, lost or mutilated Debt Securities, to maintain paying agencies and to hold moneys for payment in trust) upon the deposit in trust for the benefit of the Holders of such Debt Securities of money or U.S. Government Obligations, or both, which, through the payment of principal and interest in respect thereof in accordance with their terms, will provide money in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and any premium and interest on such Debt Securities on the respective Stated Maturities in accordance with the terms of the applicable Indenture and such Debt Securities. Such defeasance or discharge may occur only if, among other things:
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of our Senior Debt and no other event of default with respect to any of our Senior Debt shall have occurred and be continuing permitting after notice or the lapse of time, or both, the acceleration thereof: and
Covenant Defeasance. The Indentures provide that, upon our exercise of our option (if any) to have the covenant defeasance provisions applied to any Debt Securities, we may omit to comply with certain restrictive covenants (but not to conversion, if applicable), including those that may be described in the applicable prospectus supplement, the occurrence of certain Events of Default, which are described above in clause (5) under "Events of Default" and any that may be described in the applicable prospectus supplement, will not be deemed to either be or result in an Event of Default and, if such Debt Securities are Subordinated Debt Securities, the provisions of the Subordinated Indenture relating to subordination will cease to be effective, in each case with respect to such Debt Securities. In order to exercise such option, we must deposit, in trust for the benefit of the Holders of such Debt Securities, money or U.S. Government Obligations, or both, which, through the payment of principal and interest in respect thereof in accordance with their terms, will provide money in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and any premium and interest on such Debt Securities on the respective Stated Maturities in accordance with the terms of the applicable Indenture and such Debt Securities. Such covenant defeasance may occur only if we have delivered to the applicable Trustee an Opinion of Counsel that in effect says that Holders of such Debt Securities will not recognize gain or loss for federal income tax purposes as a result of such deposit and covenant defeasance and will be subject to federal income tax on the same amount, in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such deposit and covenant defeasance were not to occur, and the requirements set forth in clauses (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) and (7) above are satisfied. If we exercise this option with respect to any Debt Securities and such Debt Securities were declared due and payable because of the occurrence of any Event of Default, the amount of money and U.S. Government Obligations so deposited in trust would he sufficient to pay amounts due on such Debt Securities at the time of their respective Stated Maturities but may not be sufficient to pay amounts due on such Debt Securities upon any acceleration resulting from such Event of Default. in such case, we would remain liable for such payments.
Notices
Notices to Holders of Debt Securities will be given by mail to the addresses of such Holders as they may appear in the Security Register.
Title
We, the Trustees and any of our respective agents may treat the Person in whose name a Debt Security is registered as the absolute owner of the Debt Security (whether or not such Debt Security may be overdue) for the purpose of making payment and for all other purposes.
Governing Law
The Indentures and the Debt Securities will be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the law of the State of New York.
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The following summary of certain provisions of our capital stock does not purport to be complete and is subject to and is qualified in its entirety by our certificate of incorporation which is incorporated in this prospectus by reference to our registration statement on Form S-1, Amendment No. 5 filed October 27, 2006, and by our bylaws which are incorporated in this prospectus by reference to our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 31, 2006.
Until March 17, 2006, we operated as a Delaware limited liability company. As such the rights of our members were governed by the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act and the provisions of our limited liability company agreement which reflected various negotiations and agreements among Thermo, the creditors of Old Globalstar and others. The limited liability company agreement expressly permitted our conversion into a Delaware corporation provided that various provisions of the limited liability company agreement, including those dealing with election of directors, voting rights, preemptive rights and "tag along" rights, were incorporated into our certificate of incorporation. On March 17, 2006, we converted into a Delaware corporation. Our certificate of incorporation authorized the issuance of three series of common stock consisting of 300 million shares of Series A common stock, 20 million shares of Series B common stock and 480 million shares of Series C common stock. Each series of common stock had equivalent dividend and liquidation rights, but differing voting rights with respect to the election of directors, amendments to the certificate of incorporation and approval of certain transactions. Thermo held all of the Series C common stock, which entitled it to elect a majority of our directors. As required by our limited liability company agreement, our certificate of incorporation also restricted transfer of our common stock without approval of our board, granted all stockholders who were accredited investors pre-emptive rights to purchase shares of common stock if we issued additional shares of common stock, subject to certain exceptions, and entitled minority stockholders to participate in certain sales of a majority interest in our stock. The certificate also required that our stock be registered under the Exchange Act by October 13, 2006, which date subsequently was extended until December 31, 2006.
Amendment and Restatement of Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
In October 2006, our stockholders adopted an amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws which became effective on October 25, 2006. Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
Additionally, immediately after the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, a stock dividend affecting the six-for-one split of our common stock, which had been pre-approved by our board of directors, became effective.
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The following summary of the material terms and provisions of our capital stock is qualified in its entirety by reference to the forms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws, copies of which may be obtained upon request. See "Where You Can Find Additional Information."
Common Stock
General. We are authorized to issue 800 million shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share. All outstanding shares of common stock are, and all shares of common stock to be issued upon exercise of any warrants offered hereby will be, fully-paid and nonassessable. As of March 4, 2008, we had 294 stockholders of record.
Dividends. Subject to preferences that may be granted to holders of any preferred stock and restrictions under our credit agreement, the holders of our common stock will be entitled to dividends as may be declared from time to time by the board of directors from funds available therefor.
Voting Rights. Each share of common stock entitles its holder to one vote on all matters to be voted on by the stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors. Generally, all matters to be voted on by the stockholders must be approved by a majority or, in the case of the election of directors, by a plurality, of the votes present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote.
Preemptive Rights. Holders of common stock do not have preemptive rights with respect to the issuance and sale by the company of additional shares of common stock or other equity securities of the company.
Liquidation Rights. Upon dissolution, liquidation or winding-up, the holders of shares of common stock will be entitled to receive our assets available for distribution proportionate to their pro rata ownership of the outstanding shares of common stock.
Preferred Stock
Our board of directors has the authority, without further action of our stockholders, to issue up to 100 million shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, in one or more series, to determine the number of shares constituting and the designation of each series and to fix the powers, preferences, rights and qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, which may include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, and liquidation preferences.
There are no restrictions on the repurchase or redemption of preferred stock by the Company in the event of any arrearage in the payment of dividends or sinking fund installments.
The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the holders of common stock. The potential issuance of preferred stock may discourage bids for shares of our common stock at a premium over the market price of our common stock, may adversely affect the market price of shares of our common stock and may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control.
No shares of our preferred stock are outstanding. We have no current plans to issue any shares of preferred stock.
Anti-takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws and of Delaware General Corporation Law
The provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws summarized below may have the effect of discouraging, delaying or preventing a hostile takeover, including one that might result in a premium being paid over the
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market price of our common stock, and discouraging, delaying or preventing changes in the control or management of the Company.
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that:
The anti-takeover and other provisions of our certificate of incorporation and by-laws could discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control. These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of the board of directors and in the policies formulated by the board of directors and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened change of control. These provisions are designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal. The provisions also are intended to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and, as a consequence, they also may inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our shares that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. Such provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our management.
Delaware General Corporation Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law regulating corporate takeovers, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with an "interested stockholder" for three years after the person becomes an interested stockholder unless:
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Except as otherwise specified in Section 203, an "interested stockholder" is defined to include (a) any person that is the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the corporation, or is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and was the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation at any time within three years immediately prior to the date of determination and (b) the affiliates and associates of any such person. Thermo is not an "interested stockholder" because it acquired more than 15% of our outstanding stock prior to the completion of our IPO.
For purposes of Section 203, the term "business combinations" includes mergers, consolidations, asset sales or other transactions that result in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder and transactions that would increase the interested stockholder's proportionate share ownership of our company.
Under some circumstances, Section 203 makes it more difficult for an interested stockholder to effect various business combinations with us. Although our stockholders have the right to exclude us from the restrictions imposed by Section 203, they have not done so. Section 203 may encourage companies interested in acquiring us to negotiate in advance with the board of directors, because the requirement stated above regarding stockholder approval would be avoided if a majority of the directors approves, prior to the time the party became an interested stockholder, either the business combination or the transaction which results in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder.
Limitation of Liability of Directors
Our certificate of incorporation provides that no director shall be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability as follows:
Listing
Our common stock is listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the trading symbol "GSAT."
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Investor Services LLC.
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DESCRIPTION OF DEPOSITARY SHARES
General
We may offer fractional shares of preferred stock, rather than full shares of preferred stock. If we decide to offer fractional shares of preferred stock, we will issue receipts for depositary shares. Each depositary share will represent a fraction of a share of a particular series of preferred stock. The prospectus supplement will indicate that fraction. The shares of preferred stock represented by depositary shares will be deposited under a depositary agreement between us and a bank or trust company that meets certain requirements and is selected by us (the "Bank Depositary"). Each owner of a depositary share will be entitled to all the rights and preferences of the preferred stock represented by the depositary share. The depositary shares will be evidenced by depositary receipts issued pursuant to the depositary agreement. Depositary receipts will be distributed to those persons purchasing the fractional shares of preferred stock in accordance with the terms of the offering.
We have summarized selected provisions of a depositary agreement and the related depositary receipts. The summary is not complete. The forms of the depositary agreement and the depositary receipts relating to any particular issue of depositary shares will be filed with the SEC via a Current Report on Form 8-K prior to our offering of the depositary shares, and you should read such documents for provisions that may be important to you.
Dividends and Other Distributions
If we pay a cash distribution or dividend on a series of preferred stock represented by depositary shares, the Bank Depositary will distribute such dividends to the record holders of such depositary shares. If the distributions are in property other than cash, the Bank Depositary will distribute the property to the record holders of the depositary shares. However, if the Bank Depositary determines that it is not feasible to make the distribution of property, the Bank Depositary may, with our approval, sell such property and distribute the net proceeds from such sale to the record holders of the depositary shares.
Redemption of Depositary Shares
If we redeem a series of preferred stock represented by depositary shares, the Bank Depositary will redeem the depositary shares from the proceeds received by the Bank Depositary in connection with the redemption. The redemption price per depositary share will equal the applicable fraction of the redemption price per share of the preferred stock. If fewer than all the depositary shares are redeemed, the depositary shares to be redeemed will be selected by lot or pro rata as the Bank Depositary may determine.
Voting the Preferred Stock
Upon receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of the preferred stock represented by depositary shares are entitled to vote, the Bank Depositary will mail the notice to the record holders of the depositary shares relating to such preferred stock. Each record holder of these depositary shares on the record date (which will be the same date as the record date for the preferred stock) may instruct the Bank Depositary as to how to vote the preferred stock represented by such holder's depositary shares. The Bank Depositary will endeavor, insofar as practicable, to vote the amount of the preferred stock represented by such depositary shares in accordance with such instructions, and we will take all action which the Bank Depositary deems necessary in order to enable the Bank Depositary to do so. The Bank Depositary will abstain from voting shares of the preferred stock to the extent it does not receive specific instructions from the holders of depositary shares representing such preferred stock.
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Amendment and Termination of the Depositary Agreement
The form of depositary receipt evidencing the depositary shares and any provision of the depositary agreement may be amended by agreement between the Bank Depositary and us. However, any amendment that materially and adversely alters the rights of the holders of depositary shares will not be effective unless such amendment has been approved by the holders of at least a majority of the depositary shares then outstanding. The depositary agreement may be terminated by the Bank Depositary or us only if (1) all outstanding depositary shares have been redeemed or (2) there has been a final distribution in respect of the preferred stock in connection with any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company and such distribution has been distributed to the holders of depositary receipts.
Charges of Bank Depositary
We will pay all transfer and other taxes and governmental charges arising solely from the existence of the depositary arrangements. We will pay charges of the Bank Depositary in connection with the initial deposit of the preferred stock and any redemption of the preferred stock. Holders of depositary receipts will pay other transfer and other taxes and governmental charges and any other charges, including a fee for the withdrawal of shares of preferred stock upon surrender of depositary receipts, as are expressly provided in the depositary agreement to be for their accounts.
Withdrawal of Preferred Stock
Upon surrender of depositary receipts at the principal office of the Bank Depositary, subject to the terms of the depositary agreement, the owner of the depositary shares may demand delivery of the number of whole shares of preferred stock and all money and other property, if any, represented by those depositary shares. Partial shares of preferred stock will not be issued. If the depositary receipts delivered by the holder evidence a number of depositary shares in excess of the number of depositary shares representing the number of whole shares of preferred stock to be withdrawn, the Bank Depositary will deliver to such holder at the same time a new depositary receipt evidencing the excess number of depositary shares. Holders of preferred stock thus withdrawn may not thereafter deposit those shares under the depositary agreement or receive depositary receipts evidencing depositary shares therefor.
Miscellaneous
The Bank Depositary will forward to holders of depositary receipts all reports and communications from us that are delivered to the Bank Depositary and that we are required to furnish to the holders of the preferred stock.
Neither the Bank Depositary nor we will be liable if we are prevented or delayed by law or any circumstance beyond our control in performing our obligations under the depositary agreement. The obligations of the Bank Depositary and us under the depositary agreement will be limited to performance in good faith of our duties thereunder, and neither of us will be obligated to prosecute or defend any legal proceeding in respect of any depositary shares or preferred stock unless satisfactory indemnity is furnished. Further, both of us may rely upon written advice of counsel or accountants, or upon information provided by persons presenting preferred stock for deposit, holders of depositary receipts or other persons believed to be competent and on documents believed to be genuine.
Resignation and Removal of Bank Depositary
The Bank Depositary may resign at any time by delivering to us notice of its election to do so, and we may at any time remove the Bank Depositary. Any such resignation or removal will take effect upon the appointment of a successor Bank Depositary and its acceptance of such appointment. Such
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successor Bank Depositary must be appointed within 60 days after delivery of the notice of resignation or removal and must be a bank or trust company having its principal office in the United States and having a combined capital and surplus of at least $50,000,000.
We may issue warrants for the purchase of our common stock. Warrants may be issued independently or together with Debt Securities, preferred stock or common stock offered by any prospectus supplement and may be attached to or separate from any such offered securities, Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as warrant agent, all as set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the particular issue of warrants. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the warrants and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of warrants or beneficial owners of warrants. The following summary of certain provisions of the warrants does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, all provisions of the warrant agreements.
You should refer to the prospectus supplement relating to a particular issue of warrants for the terms of and information relating to the warrants, including, where applicable:
Warrants will be offered and exercisable for United States dollars only. Warrants will be issued in registered form only. Each warrant will entitle its holder to purchase such number of shares of common stock at such exercise price as is in each case set forth in, or calculable from, the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants. The exercise price may be subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of events described in such prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the Expiration Date (or such later date to which we may extend such Expiration Date), unexercised warrants will become void. The place or places where, and the manner in which, warrants may be exercised will be specified in the prospectus supplement relating to such warrants.
Prior to the exercise of any warrants, holders of the warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of common stock, including the right to receive payments of any dividends on the common stock purchasable upon exercise of the warrants, or to exercise any applicable right to vote.
We may sell or distribute the securities included in this prospectus through underwriters, through agents, dealers, in private transactions, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market prices, or at negotiated prices.
In addition, we may sell some or all of the securities included in this prospectus through:
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In addition, we may enter into option or other types of transactions that require us to deliver common shares to a broker-dealer, who will then resell or transfer the common shares under this prospectus. We may enter into hedging transactions with respect to our securities. For example, we may:
We may enter into derivative transactions with third parties, or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. If the applicable prospectus supplement indicates, in connection with those derivatives, the third parties may sell securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, including in short sale transactions. If so, the third party may use securities pledged by us or borrowed from us or others to settle those sales or to close out any related open borrowings of stock, and may use securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives to close out any related open borrowings of stock. The third party in such sale transactions will be an underwriter and, if not identified in this prospectus, will be identified in the applicable prospectus supplement (or a post-effective amendment). In addition, we may otherwise loan or pledge securities to a financial institution or other third party that in turn may sell the securities short using this prospectus. Such financial institution or other third party may transfer its economic short position to investors in our securities or in connection with a concurrent offering of other securities.
There is currently no market for any of the securities, other than the shares of common stock listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market. If the securities are traded after their initial issuance, they may trade at a discount from their initial offering price, depending on prevailing interest rates, the market for similar securities and other factors. While it is possible that an underwriter could inform us that it intends to make a market in the securities, such underwriter would not be obligated to do so, and any such market making could he discontinued at any time without notice. Therefore, we cannot assure you as to whether an active trading market will develop for these other securities. We have no current plans for listing the Debt Securities on any securities exchange or on the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. automated quotation system; any such listing with respect to any particular Debt Securities will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
Any broker-dealers or other persons acting on our behalf that participate with us in the distribution of the shares may be deemed to be underwriters and any commissions received or profit realized by them on the resale of the shares may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. As of the date of this prospectus, we are not a party to any agreement, arrangement or understanding between any broker or dealer and us with respect to the offer or sale of the securities pursuant to this prospectus.
We may have agreements with agents, underwriters, dealers and remarketing firms to indemnify them or their controlling persons against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Agents, underwriters, dealers and remarketing firms, and their affiliates, may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us in the ordinary course of business. This includes commercial banking and investment banking transactions.
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At the time that any particular offering of securities is made, to the extent required by the Securities Act, a prospectus supplement will be distributed setting forth the terms of the offering, including the aggregate number of securities being offered, the purchase price of the securities, the initial offering price of the securities, the names of and the respective amounts underwritten by any underwriters, dealers or agents, nature of the underwriters' obligation to purchase the securities, any discounts, commissions and other items constituting compensation from us and any discounts, commissions or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers. The nature and amount of discounts and commissions to underwriters for each security and in total will be provided in tabular format.
Underwriters or agents could make sales in privately negotiated transactions and/or any other method permitted by law, including sales deemed to be an "at the market" offering as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act, which includes sales made directly on or through The NASDAQ Global Select Market, the existing trading market for our common shares, or sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange.
Securities may also be sold directly by us. In this case, no underwriters or agents would be involved.
If a prospectus supplement so indicates, underwriters, brokers or dealers, in compliance with applicable law, may engage in transactions that stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at levels above those that might otherwise prevail in the open market.
Pursuant to a requirement by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, the maximum commission or discount to be received by any FINRA member or independent broker/dealer may not be greater than eight percent (8%) of the gross proceeds received by us for the sale of any securities being registered pursuant to SEC Rule 415 under the Securities Act.
If more than 10% of the net proceeds of any offering of securities made under this prospectus will be received by FINRA members participating in the offering or affiliates or associated persons of such FINRA members, the offering, will be conducted in accordance with NASD Conduct Rule 2710(h).
DISCLOSURE OF COMMISSION POSITION ON INDEMNIFICATION FOR SECURITIES ACT LIABILITIES
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
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Our legal counsel, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, Cincinnati, Ohio, will pass upon certain legal matters in connection with certain of the offered securities.
The consolidated financial statements of Globalstar, Inc. as of December 31, 2007 and 2006, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2007, and Globalstar, Inc.'s effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007 have been incorporated by reference herein and in the registration statement in reliance upon the reports of Crowe Chizek and Company LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as experts in accounting and auditing.
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