[SatNews] COM DEV International Ltd.'s (TSX:CDV) data services subsidiary, exactEarth Ltd. (“the Company”), has added a strategic investor that will play an important role in delivering and growing the Company’s exactAIS™ service in the marketplace.

HISDESAT Servicios Estratégicos S.A., a major Madrid-based satellite operator and service provider that sells data to more than 25 government customers around the world, has taken a 27 percent equity interest in exactEarth with a cash investment of CDN $15 million, which represents an implied $55.5 million valuation of the exactEarth business. The cash investment will support exactEarth’s on-going business operations and the deployment of additional space and ground infrastructure. In addition to its investment in exactEarth, HISDESAT will play a strategic role in supporting the Company’s operations and service delivery. HISDESAT will represent exactEarth as a reseller in a wide range of market territories where they have an established market presence. In addition to this, it is expected that HISDESAT will operate a second data center in Europe on behalf of the exactEarth business, in a move that will further improve the overall reliability of the exactEarth global AIS system. At the end of the most recent fiscal quarter, the Company was valued at approximately $16 million on COM DEV’s consolidated balance sheet. COM DEV has committed to funding $35 million of the Company’s capital and operating expenses, of which approximately $24 million has been provided to date. COM DEV retains ownership of 73 percent of exactEarth. (All amounts are stated in Canadian dollars.)