Orbital Sciences, a Dulles, Va.-based developer of space systems for commercial and military purposes, switched from J.P. Morgan to Wells Fargo subsidiary Foothill Capital, and Ableco Finance to lead its new three-year credit lines. Barron Beneski, responsible for investor relations at Orbital, said the new lines, composed of a $35 million receivables-based revolver and a $25 million term loan, will be used for short-term liquidity purposes. The previous J.P. Morgan-led credit was paid off last year when Orbital executed a turnaround strategy. Debt reduction was a component of the strategy, he noted. Beneski declined to give specific reasons for the switch.
Orbital has been pursuing a strategy of jettisoning all but its core space technology businesses and has agreed to sell most of its MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates subsidiary, and it is also disposing of Magellan and trying to sell the ORBCMM unit, which has filed for bankruptcy protection. Orbital last week received a contract from The Boeing Co. worth at least $900 million during the next eight years. Orbital will develop and test ground-based boost vehicles for the U.S. missile defense system.