[SatNews] Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L) is acquiring the business and substantially all of the assets of Globe Wireless LLC ("Globe Wireless"), a leading provider of value-added maritime communications services to the shipping market.
 
The acquisition of Globe Wireless is driven by multiple strategic benefits:

• Access to a skilled engineering team that will significantly expand Inmarsat’s installation capabilities and enable a faster roll-out of both XpressLink (“XL”) and Global Xpress® (“GX”) to the maritime market, both through its already well-established channel partnerships and direct to end-users;
• The acquisition of a portfolio of industry-leading value-added services (“VAS”) for maritime customers that will jump-start Inmarsat’s ambitions to move beyond pure connectivity and offer solutions and managed services to the maritime market, both through its channel partners and direct to end-users, that will be relevant to both L-band and GX customers;
• The immediate opportunity to offer the Globe Wireless VAS range to Inmarsat’s entire installed base of maritime customers, both through its channel partners and direct, enabling further ARPU (average revenue per user) growth that might otherwise have taken years to develop through in-house development of an equivalent product range; and
• Significant operational synergies identified through immediate integration with Inmarsat’s maritime business unit, and which are expected to deliver a material improvement in profitability within the first year.

Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat, highlighted a range of important strategic benefits associated with the acquisition. These included the opportunity to swiftly deliver significantly improved financial performance through synergies. He said that rapid take-up and a growing backlog for XpressLink, had pushed Inmarsat near the limit of its existing engineering capability to meet the demand from our channel partners and customers.

Inmarsat will acquire the business of Globe Wireless for a total consideration of US$45 million and will fund the acquisition from available liquidity.  In the twelve months ended June 30, 2103, Globe Wireless generated revenues of US$91 million and currently has an installed customer base of over 6,000 ships.   Closing of the transaction is subject to certain regulatory and other approvals, which are expected to be completed in January 2014.

More information regarding Inmarsat is available at: http://www.inmarsat.com/