A year and a half after announcing the plan to combine satellite communications companies Viasat and Inmarsat, the acquisition of Inmarsat by Viasat was completed yesterday. The two companies operate 19 satellites that cover the Ka-, Ku- L-, and S-bands serving aviation, maritime, government, and consumer markets. Viasat’s business aviation customers purchase hardware and services directly from the company, while Inmarsat has partnered with service providers and value-added resellers to provide hardware and satcom services.
The purchase agreement gave Inmarsat shareholders $551 million in cash and 46.36 million shares of common stock, which represents about 37.6 percent of the total shares of Viasat common stock.
“The combination of our companies brings together the people, technology, innovation, network assets, spectrum resources, and global partnerships needed to help connect the world more affordably, securely, and reliably,” said Viasat chairman and CEO Mark Dankberg. “Together, we believe we are positioned to offer customers a multi-layered network that gives them the right connectivity at the right time, place, and price.” Dankberg will lead the combined company as chairman and CEO and Guru Gowrappan as president.
Viasat’s corporate headquarters will remain in Carlsbad, California, and the London offices will be the combined companies’ international business headquarters.