Bermuda-based Intelsat Ltd. announced that it was the successful bidder in last Thursday's public auction for the Protostar 1 satellite with a $210 million, all cash offer.

The seller Protostar, also based in Bermuda, put the satellite up for auction after filing for bankruptcy earlier this year.

On conclusion of the deal, the satellite will be renamed Intelsat 25 and will join Intelsat's global fleet, serving with the company's other assets in the Atlantic Ocean region.

The satellite, built by Space Systems Loral, was expected to have a 16-year lifespan, when it was launched in July 2008.

"Intelsat continues to demonstrate its ability to execute transactions that enhance the value of its global network," said Phillip Spector, Intelsat executive vice-president of business development and general counsel.

"A healthy, in-orbit satellite is extremely valuable to us given our high fleet utilisation. The additional inventory will support future revenue growth and provide resilience.

"Over the past several years we have enjoyed strong demand for our services in Africa, and this capacity will allow us to support the growth requirements of our customers, including wireless operators and broadband service providers.

"Because of our operating scale and collection of valuable orbital locations, we will be able to integrate and operate Intelsat 25 with minimal incremental cost, and rapidly build a backlog of revenue for the new satellite."

Intelsat, the world's leading provider of fixed-satellite services, expects to close the transaction within the next 30 days, subject to regulatory approval.