(Bloomberg) ? Bermuda-based Intelsat Ltd., the world?s second- biggest satellite operator, is optimistic it will win approval from the US Federal Communications Commission for a planned purchase of PanAmSat Holding Corp.

Intelsat chief executive officer David McGlade said he doesn?t expect the regulator to extend a review period that ends this week, and hopes the Department of Justice will sanction the deal next month, the final hurdle before a bond sale to finance the transaction.

?We?re just counting the days when we can close the deal,? McGlade said in an interview in New York last week.

The approvals will put Intelsat on schedule to complete the $3.2 billion acquisition of PanAmSat in the second or third quarter as planned, McGlade said. Pembroke, Bermuda-based Intelsat is buying PanAmSat, the biggest distributor of television channels over satellite, to pass SES Global SA as the world?s largest commercial-satellite operator.

McGlade, who marked his one-year anniversary as head of Intelsat this month, said a ?defined, modest capex? and predictable cash flow will help the combined company pay down an estimated $11 billion in debt. Intelsat plans to give details on forecasts and job cuts at the time of the bond offering.

?We certainly will be reducing the overall headcount,? McGlade said. Cuts will mainly be made to overlapping back- office, administrative and operational jobs, he said.

Intelsat, owned by private-equity firms Apax Partners, Apollo Management LP, Madison Dearborn Partners and Permira, is planning to sell $3.2 billion in new debt to fund the purchase.

The company?s 8 bond maturing in January 2015 was unchanged at 103 cents on the dollar yesterday, according to Trace, the bond price reporting system of the National Association of Securities Dealers. The yield was 8.14 percent.

FCC spokesman Clyde Ensslin yesterday declined to comment on the timing for an announcement from the regulator about Intelsat?s planned acquisition.

?We are continuing to collect and review information related to the proposed merger,? he said in an interview.

The purchase of No. 3 PanAmSat will increase Intelsat?s number of satellites to 51 from 27 and provide coverage in more than 220 countries. The combined company?s customers will include Time Warner Inc., DirecTV Group Inc., Viacom Inc. and the US government. By comparison, SES Global operates 35 satellites.

PanAmSat CEO Joseph Wright will be chairman of merged company, while McGlade, 45, will remain CEO.

Shares of Wilton, Connecticut-based PanAmSat fell 3 cents to $24.78 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Intelsat is paying $25 a share for the company.