Exhibit 99.1


# New Skies
  Satellites to be acquired by Blackstone

The Hague, Netherlands, June 6,
2004  New Skies Satellites N.V. (AEX, NYSE: NSK), the global satellite
communications company, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement for the
sale of the Company to affiliates of The Blackstone Group, a leading private investment
firm, for $956 million in cash, equivalent to approximately $7.96 per fully diluted share.

The Blackstone transaction has
received unanimous approval from the Supervisory and Management Boards of New Skies, who
intend to recommend it to the Companys shareholders.

The decision of Blackstone
  to acquire New Skies is a reflection of the strength of the business and our
  prospects as well as the dedication and expertise of our employees, said
  Dan Goldberg, chief executive officer of New Skies. This agreement also
  provides significant value for our shareholders, representing a 14% premium
  over the price of our stock on April 28th, the day before we announced
  that we were considering our alternatives, and a 27% premium to the average
  share price during the twelve months leading up to that date.

The Management and Supervisory
Boards have considered a number of options to maximize shareholder value, and have
concluded that the offer from Blackstone is in the best interests of New Skies
shareholders, employees and customers. With the strong backing of Blackstone and its
extensive experience investing in, and partnering with, telecommunications and media
companies, we will have the best possible foundation on which to grow our business in the
coming years, said Goldberg.

We are excited to be acquiring
New Skies, a world class satellite operator with strong long-term fundamentals, said
Lawrence H. Guffey, senior managing director of Blackstone and co-head of Blackstone
Communications Partners. We are particularly pleased to be allying ourselves with
Dan Goldberg and the rest of the New Skies team, who have an outstanding track record of
success.

The sale of the Company will involve
the transfer of New Skies business and operations to Blackstone and the distribution
of the cash proceeds to New Skies shareholders. The sale will be structured as a sale of
New Skies assets and liabilities. New Skies business activities will be
continued under ownership by Blackstone and all employment obligations will be honored.

A circular with information on the
transaction will be mailed to shareholders within approximately one week and an
Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders will be held within approximately 40 days.
Once the applicable regulatory approvals have been received and certain financing and
other customary conditions have been satisfied, New Skies anticipates that the sale would
be completed, and an initial distribution of approximately 95% of the sale proceeds paid
to shareholders. This process is currently expected to conclude by approximately the end
of 2004 or early 2005. A final distribution of the remaining proceeds will be made shortly
thereafter. The text of the agreement with The Blackstone Group can be found on New
Skies website.

Goldman Sachs & Co. and N M
Rothschild & Sons Limited served as financial advisors to New Skies, and Cleary,
Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek N.V. served as its legal
advisers. Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc. served as financial advisors
to Blackstone, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and NautaDutilh N.V. served as its
legal advisors. Deutsche Bank and ABN AMRO are providing acquisition financing for the
transaction.

---

# About New Skies Satellites

New Skies Satellites (AEX, NYSE: NSK)
is one of only four fixed satellite communications companies with truly global satellite
coverage, offering video, data, voice and Internet communications services to a range of
telecommunications carriers, broadcasters, large corporations, Internet service providers
and government entities around the world. New Skies has five satellites in orbit, ground
facilities around the world and one additional spacecraft under construction. The company
also has secured certain rights to make use of additional orbital positions for future
growth. New Skies is headquartered in The Hague, The Netherlands, and has offices in
Beijing, Hong Kong, New Delhi, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Washington, D.C.
Additional information is available at www.newskies.com.

# About The Blackstone Group

The Blackstone Group, a private
investment and advisory firm with offices in New York, Atlanta, Boston, London and
Hamburg, was founded in 1985. The firm has raised a total of approximately $32 billion for
alternative asset investing since its formation. Over $14 billion of that has been for
private equity investing, including Blackstone Capital Partners IV, the largest
institutional private equity fund ever raised at $6.45 billion, and Blackstone
Communications Partners I, the largest dedicated communications and media fund at over
$2.0 billion. In addition to Private Equity Investing, The Blackstone Groups core
businesses are Private Real Estate Investing, Corporate Debt Investing, Marketable
Alternative Asset Management, Corporate Advisory, and Restructuring and Reorganization
Advisory. www.blackstone.com

# Conference call:

CEO Dan Goldberg and CFO Andrew Browne
will host a conference call for analysts Monday, June 7 at 10 am (CET). To listen in
please dial +44 20 8240 8244, passcode New Skies. The call will also be
webcast live on the New Skies web site at: www.newskies.com/ir.

The conference call will be available
for replay, 24 hours a day for the subsequent 5 working days and will also be archived on
New Skies website. The international dial in number is +44 20 8288 4459 (for the UK
only on free phone number: 0500 637 880) Passcode: 540442.

 END 

For additional information,
  please contact:
  Elizabeth Hess
  VP Corporate Communications, New Skies Satellites 
  Tel: +31 70 306 4133 Mobile + 31 (0)6 2906 2492 
  Ehess@newskies.com 
  John Ford 
  VP Corporate Communications, The Blackstone Group 
  Tel: +1 212 583 5559 Mobile + 1 917 952 3275 Ford@blackstone.com



Safe Harbor

Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act
of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 provide a safe
harbor for forward-looking statements made by an issuer of publicly traded
securities and persons acting on its behalf. New Skies Satellites N.V. has made certain
forward-looking statements in this document in reliance on those safe harbors. A
forward-looking statement concerns the companys or managements intentions or
expectations, or are predictions of future performance. These statements are identified by
words such as intends, expects, anticipates,
believes, estimates, may, will,
should and similar expressions. By their nature, forward-looking statements
are not a matter of historical fact and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause
New Skies actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements for a number of reasons. Factors which may affect the future
performance of New Skies include: delays or problems in the construction or launch of
future satellites; technical performance of in-orbit satellites and earth-based
infrastructure; increased competition and changes in technology; growth of and access to
the companys target markets; legal and regulatory developments affecting the
companys business; and worldwide business and economic conditions, among other
things. These risks and other risks affecting New Skies business are described in
the companys periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
including but not limited to New Skies Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended
December 31, 2002. Copies of these filings may be obtained by contacting the SEC. New
Skies disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained in this
document.