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Iridium World Communications Ltd and three affiliates filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware late Friday. 

Earlier in the day, NASDAQ halted trading in the stock after noteholders sought to place Iridium LLC in an involuntary Chapter 11. 

Shares closed at $3.00625 on Friday afternoon.

Also filing in Delaware were the affiliates Iridium LLC, Iridium Operating LLC, and Iridium Capital Corp.

All the petitions listed assets and liabilities as exceeding $100 million, but Iridium World reported figures of $32.5 million in assets and no creditors. Iridium World said in its petition that it was "organized to act as a member of Iridium LLC and to have no other business.''

Iridium Operating listed among its 20 top creditors the following: 

• Senior note holders with $1.5 billion in high-yield debt
• A senior bank loan of $803.9 million, with the value of its security "uncertain''; 
• A Motorola Guaranteed Bank Facility of $742.2 million
• A disputed Motorola trade claim of $591.4 million
• A senior subordinated noteholders with $377.8 million in high-yield debt. The remaining claims, all trade debt, range from $10 million to $50,000.

Iridium was intended to provide telephone service via a 66-satellite system worldwide to regions without telephone networks.

In court papers, Iridium indicated that nine bankruptcy petition were to be filed but only four were available from the court on Friday. 

The affiliates listed but not yet filing are Iridium IP LLC, Iridium Roaming LLC, Iridium Potomac LLC, Iridium Facility Corp LLC, and Iridium Canada Facility Inc. 

This story from Reuters via iSyndicate

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