Prior to joining White & Case in 2002, Mr. Mechanick spent twenty years as a senior
executive with COMSAT Corporation and later Lockheed Martin Global
Telecommunications. In that role, he acquired significant industry as well as regulatory
expertise in a broad range of matters related to international and satellite
telecommunications, and also led US efforts resulting in the privatization of the
INTELSAT and Inmarsat intergovernmental satellite organizations and the creation of
New Skies Satellites, NV, as an INTELSAT spin-off company. Throughout his private
sector and law firm careers, Mr. Mechanick has worked closely with US government
regulatory and executive branch officials, including specifically the US Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), and government regulatory officials from around
the world.
Since joining White & Case, Mr. Mechanick has frequently provided general industry
and FCC regulatory advice to banks and other financial institutions in connection with a
number of major telecom financing projects in the United States, including companies
involved in the wireless, wireline, cable, television and radio broadcasting, and satellite
sectors. This includes: acquisition of TeleGuam by a group of Japanese private equity
firms; major refinancing undertaken by Nextwave Wireless and Susquehanna Radio; the
sale of Univision to private equity investors; the acquisition by Paetec of US LEC and of
McLeod USA; the acquisition by Global Crossing of Impsat Communications; the
acquisition by Integra Telecom of Eschelon Communications; and the acquisition by
OakHill of a number of broadcast stations from Fox Broadcasting. In addition, Mr.
Mechanick has advised on a number of satellite transactions in which FCC regulatory
and licensing issues were raised, including Deutsche Bank's financing of the private
equity purchases of Intelsat by Zeus Ltd. (a consortium comprised of Apollo, Madison
Dearborn, Apax and Permira) and of New Skies Satellites by Blackstone, and the
provision of a COFACE-backed US$586 million credit facility to Globalstar, Inc by a
syndicate of European banks. Mr. Mechanick is also currently serving as the FCC
regulatory expert member of the White & Case team representing the first-tier lien
holders in the Lightsquared bankruptcy proceeding.
Given his background, Mr. Mechanick should be well positioned to advise on any FCCrelated issues, including any spectrum utilization-related issues that may arise as well as
the preparation of any transfer of control applications that would need to be filed with the
FCC in connection with the contemplated transaction, and on similar regulatory
requirements that may arise in other countries in which ARINC currently conducts
operations.
5/18/2012 11:01 AM[WC_Standard.dotm]