Ico Global Set To Be Rechristened

ICO Global Communications will be renamed New ICO. This follows the successful emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this week following a formal completion of a $1.2 billion investment led by telecommunications pioneer Craig McCaw, Zee's Subhash Chandra and a group of investors.

ICO-Teledesic Global Ltd, a new holding company that controls the satellite assets of McCaw's private investment company Eagle River Investments LLC, intends within the next week to propose to New ICO a merger of the two companies.

This proposal is subject to approval by the New ICO board, shareholders and regulatory authorities.

According to McCaw, "I congratulate New ICO, its employees and its partners around the world on all the hard work required to facilitate the company's transformation. We appreciate having the opportunity to learn from the pioneering efforts of others in reconfiguring New ICO for the market."

 

As a result of New ICO's just-completed reorganization plan, ICO-Teledesic Global is the controlling shareholder in London-based New ICO. Though Chandra's shareholding in the new entity is still not clear, it is for the first time that an Indian will a shareholder in a company which is promoted by the likes of Bill Gates and McCaw.

McCaw and Microsoft founder Bill Gates are Teledesic's two primary founding investors. Strategic investors also include Motorola, Saudi Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, The Boeing Company and The Abu Dhabi Investment Company.

On May 12, Teledesic's board of directors approved the merger of Washington-based Teledesic into ICO-Teledesic Global, but the merger remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Under the proposal, New ICO and Teledesic would become wholly owned subsidiaries of ICO-Teledesic Global. New ICO's founding shareholder and distributor group will be a key asset to the company.

McCaw will serve as chairman of ICO-Teledesic Global in addition to his role as chairman of New ICO and founder and chairman of Teledesic LLC. Having successfully completed his goal of guiding ICO through the bankruptcy process, Richard Greco is resigning as chief executive officer of ICO to develop his own telecommunications venture.