09/09/96 LORAL SPACE IS ON THE LAUNCHING PAD

LORAL SPACE IS ON THE LAUNCHING PAD

Bernard Schwartz is all set to do it again. He built Loral from scratch into a major defense electronics company through an aggressive strategy of acquisitions. Loral was acquired by Lockheed Martin in April, 1996. At the same time, Lockheed spun off Loral Space & Communications (LOR), with Schwartz as chairman and CEO. Loral Space started trading on its own on Apr. 15, 1996, at 13 a share. The stock climbed as high as 18 1/2 in May but has fallen back to 14. Some money managers have taken advantage of the dip to put money behind Schwartz again.
Says Oppenheimer analyst Lior Bregman of Loral Space: ``Given its superb track record and cash position ($615 million--and no debt), Schwartz will have no problem financing its strategy to become a leading satellite-based telecom company.''
Schwartz acknowledges that several deals ``are in the works to achieve that goal,'' though he declined to be specific about the companies he is talking with. ``We have an appetite to become an important player in a consolidating industry,'' Schwartz says. Loral Space also owns 33.7% of Globalstar Telecommunications, which is preparing to launch a worldwide satellite-based digital telecom system. And Loral also owns 51% of Space Systems/Loral, a maker of satellite systems.
BY GENE G. MARCIAL