Inmarsat once again in the acquisition crosshairs

Acquisition rumours are once again swirling around British satellite company Inmarsat, this time to take the company back to private equity control for £3.3 billion.

The consortium, featuring Apax, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Warburg Pincu, comes at a time where the firm has been facing investor pressures. Over the last six months, poor performance from Inmarsat share price decline by 26%, while acquisition rumours have caused this trend to reverse recently. Share price is still down, but there does seem to be appetite in the market for an acquisition.

On January 31, Inmarsat received a non-binding proposal from the consortium offering $7.21 per share for the entire issued, and to be issued, share capital of the firm. The offer values the business at $3.3 billion, roughly £2.5 billion. This is not a concrete offer, but it is seemingly enough to get the market excited.

Although Inmarsat has reported flat sales growth in its core business units, maritime and government connectivity contracts, there has been increased demand in the aerospace industry, as more airlines demands connectivity, while 5G is on the horizon. The failure to deliver material progress on the promises does seem to be frustrating investors, but there is potential.

While satellite connectivity has been snubbed in recent years, usecases which demand ubiquitous connectivity in the future imply satellite has a broader role to play outside of the developing nations. Due to the civil engineering difficulties, and sometimes commercial constraints of connectivity, satellite is increasingly becoming a critical component of the connectivity mesh.

Interestingly enough, Apax might be a familiar sounding name to Inmarsat lifers. Apax was part of a consortium which bought the satellite firm in 2003, before taking it public two years later.

For some, this might be good news, but what is worth noting is this deal will be placed under scrutiny from the UK Government, which will view Inmarsat as a national strategic asset, and other attempts have failed. EchoStar attempted to acquire the business last year, investors rejected an offer worth £3.2 billion, while Eutelsat was also rumoured to be considering a bid.