It's said that nature abhors a vacuum, and that seems especially true where bankrupt satcaster WorldSpace and its former CEO Neil Samarra are concerned. To that end, the Wall Street Journal's Bankruptcy Beat blog reports that Samarra's Yazmi USA LLC is likely the final bidder for WorldSpace's two satellites and other operations assets, reportedly for the bargain rack price of $5.5 million. Yazmi has also posted the funding necessary to cover satellite decommissioning in the event it cannot successfully execute the deal.

Those following the WorldSpace saga may remember that Samarra tendered a similar buyout bid in 2009 that fell apart when another of his business ventures, Yenura Ptd., defaulted on a $28 million offer.

This time, Samarra's moved in following the collapse of negations between John Malone's Liberty Satellite Radio and agents of WorldSpace's Debtor in Possession. At that point, WorldSpace said it was moving toward de-orbiting orbital platforms AsiaStar and AfrisStar at a bankruptcy judge's request.

In apparent preparation for the pending sale to Yazmi, WorldSpace has placed one of its still operating subsidiaries, SatCo, under Chapter 11 protection. The Delaware bankruptcy court supervising the process is slated to schedule a final asset liquidation auction that will permit final discharge of the bankruptcy to advance.