British satellite operator Inmarsat agrees to USD 3.4 bn cash takeover

British satellite operator Inmarsat on Monday agreed to a $3.4 billion cash takeover from a consortium of investment funds. The bid for the London-listed telecommunications group was pitched at $7.21 per share, consortium bid-vehicle Triton Bidco said in a statement.

"Triton Bidco believes that the satellite sector is attractive," said a statement from the consortium, which comprises private equity groups Apax and Warburg Pincus, as well as Canadian pension funds CPPIB and OTPP. "Triton Bidco believes that integrated satellite operators with scale-like Inmarsat are well positioned as network provision becomes more complex." The consortium also saw "considerable potential for Inmarsat's in-flight connectivity business in commercial aviation", it added.

Inmarsat provides satellite services for high-speed transmission of data by telephone, email, video and the internet to government agencies and global corporations. The company rose to prominence in 2014 after its raw data was used in the unsuccessful search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.