Creditors of Satellites Mexicanos (Satmex), the troubled Mexican satellite venture, filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition to attempt to force the company to reorganize and restructure $523m of overdue debt.

Creditors holding two-thirds of the company's debt filed the Chapter 11 petition against Satmex on Wednesday, asking the bankruptcy court in the Southern District of New York to waive the customary waiting period of the company, which first defaulted on payments in August 2003. Their proposed debt agreement also includes up to $55m to fund the launch of the company's third satellite, which has been in storage in French Guiana for the last 18 months.