EchoStar’s operational upheaval continued this week as its Hughes Satellite Systems subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a move that comes a month after its Dish subsidiary filed for similar bankruptcy protection.
EchoStar CEO Charlie Ergen noted during the company’s second-quarter earnings call that the Hughes filing was tied to $1.5 billion in upcoming bond payments.
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“We had discussions with the bondholders but weren't able to come up with a workable solution, so we filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy this morning for Hughes,” Ergen said during the earnings call.
Ergen added that the filing is specific to Hughes, and “does not include EchoStar Corporation or other non-Hughes subsidiaries or even Hughes international entities,” and that the filing means “we're paying our employees, we're delivering for customers and channel partners as usual, and we expect to fulfill all ongoing forward commitments to our vendors.”
