Intelsat, SES Plunge as FCC Chief Rejects Their Airwave Plan (1)

The Federal Communications Commission decided to sell lucrative airwaves through a public auction rather than letting Intelsat SA and SES SA conduct a private sale of the frequencies, sending their shares plunging.

The FCC’s plan, which could slash the satellite companies’ take by billions of dollars, was announced in a tweet by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who, according to agency officials, had earlier discussed the matter with President Donald Trump.

Ajit Pai

Shares in both companies suffered their biggest ever declines, with Intelsat slumping 40% on Monday and SES down as much as 23% in early trading on Tuesday. ...