The 15-year floating-rate loan is to cost Ottawa-based Telesat interest of 4.75 percentage points above the Canadian Overnight Repo Rate Average (which is just over five per cent now), plus warrants for 10 per cent ownership of the Lightspeed constellation, the company announced. (The Logic)

Talking point: In 2021, the federal Innovation Department and Telesat agreed on a $1.44-billion financing package that would include a much smaller loan, preferred shares and warrants, which this arrangement replaces. After the 2021 announcement, Telesat’s previous satellite-maker bailed out. The company struggled to remake the deal until the delay meant Telesat could become an early customer for MDA’s next generation of satellites. Telesat has been buying up its own bonds at deep discounts—under 60 cents on the dollar, on average in 2023—reflecting their poor standing even after the MDA announcement.