Washington - British private equity firm BC Partners on Tuesday agreed to acquire a 76% stake in Intelsat, the provider of satellite communications services, in a deal that values the company at $5.03 billion.

Current shareholders Apax Partners, Apollo Management, Madison Dearborn Partners, Permira and company management will receive $4.6 billion in cash and retain a 24% stake.

BC, which also will absorb Intelsat's $11.4 billion of debt, topped a competing bid from the team of Liberty Media and EchoStar Communications, with Loral also making an offer, according to various media reports.

Bermuda-based Intelsat operates 51 satellites and provides satellite capacity to TV networks and wireless carriers.

The deal is expected to close in six to nine months, with Dave McGlade expected to continue serving as Intelsat's CEO.

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