Australia Approves Proposed Acquisition of Inmarsat by Viasat
The Australian Government's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) has confirmed it has no objections to the planned acquisition of Inmarsat by Viasat.
Australia is well advanced as a space-faring nation and we are excited about the significant opportunities to support the growth of the Australian space sector, given the increased resources, unity of purpose and broader coverage the joint entity will have."
Mark Dankberg, CEO and executive chairman of Viasat.
FIRB's clearance of Viasat's proposed acquisition of Inmarsat under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 is the latest approval for the transaction. Australia is an important market in which the companies have significant business and customer relationships.
"We're delighted to secure approval from the Australian Government. The combined business will have the scale, deep engineering capabilities and scope to deliver leading technology and services for our customers in Australia and across the globe," said Mark Dankberg, CEO and executive chairman of Viasat. "Australia is well advanced as a space-faring nation and we are excited about the significant opportunities to support the growth of the Australian space sector, given the increased resources, unity of purpose and broader coverage the joint entity will have."
"Approval by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board is a welcome further endorsement of the sound competitive logic behind the transaction," said Rajeev Suri, Inmarsat CEO. "Australia is an international market that is key to global advances and innovation in mobility. Their approval brings us one step closer to being even better placed to invest in the technologies required to compete in a fast-changing global satellite communications market undergoing profound changes."
Australia is the Latest Approval for the Proposed Acquisition
The proposed acquisition has already secured several key regulatory approvals, most recently with the UK Government's clearance of the proposed transaction under the National Security and Investment Act, and over the summer from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
The combined company intends to integrate the spectrum, satellite and terrestrial assets of both companies into a global high-capacity hybrid space and terrestrial network, capable of delivering superior services in fast-growing commercial and government sectors. This advanced architecture will create a framework incorporating the most favorable characteristics of multi-band, multi-orbit satellites and terrestrial air-to-ground systems that can deliver higher speeds, more bandwidth, greater density of bandwidth at high demand locations like airport and shipping hubs and lower latency at lower cost than either company could provide alone.
(Source: Viasat news release. Images from file)