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Sea Launch deal completion postponed until mid-April

The postponement is due to lengthy issue of permits, Chief Executive Officer of S7 Space Sergei Sopov said

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. Completion of the transaction on acquisition of the Sea Launch floating seaport by the S7 Group from RSC Energia is postponed until mid-April due to lengthy execution of many permits, Chief Executive Officer of S7 Space, a subsidiary of the S7 Group, Sergei Sopov told TASS on Thursday.

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"The process is underway. All the issues have been settled but technical points are in place. The deal cannot be managed to be closed this week. We expect the transaction should be closed by the middle of this month," the top manager said.

The postponement is due to lengthy issue of permits, including expert reviews, insurance documents, and so on, Sopov said. "A great many, about 80, various certificates and licenses, including about 50 US ones to be issued," the S7 Space CEO noted.

The deal was expected to be complete this week, Sopov said earlier.

Sea Launch

The Sea Launch is an international commercial project of the seaborne rocket and space complex. Sea Launch Company was established in 1995 for the project’s implementation. Sea Launch Company declared its bankruptcy in the summer of 2009 and after its reorganization in 2010 Russia’s RSC Energia Corporation gained the leading role in the project. Space launches were suspended in 2014.

Launches from the floating seaport are scheduled to restart in 2019. A total of 10-12 launches are planned under the project during the first five years. It was reported earlier that investments in the project to resume the Sea Launch program totaled $220 million.

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