SES launches capital raising to gain full control of O3b Networks


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Editor

| 27 May 2016




Making a bid to gain full control of a company that offers ‘fibre in the sky’, satellite operator SES is launching a capital raising to fund the acquisition of the remaining shares in O3b Networks it doesn’t own.



o3b 27 May 2016O3b’s assets includes 12 high throughput satellites (HTS) at medium earth orbit (MEO) that deliver what is described as a unique, global ‘fibre in the sky’ connectivity solution with ultra-low latency.

On 29 April SES agreed to pay $20 million to increase its fully diluted ownership of O3b from 49.1% to 50.5%. SES now intends to exercise its call option, under the purchase agreement, to acquire the remaining 49.5% of O3b shares for a consideration of $710 million, bringing SES’s aggregate equity investment in the company to date to $1 billion. As a result, the Board of O3b will no longer evaluate an IPO process.

SES sees five key benefits to taking full control of O3b: expanding its global network and solutions; augmenting SES’s differentiated capabilities by leveraging the capabilities and features of the combined fleets; enhancing foundations for sustainable growth; accelerating commercial and financing synergies; and delivering ‘attractive’ returns within SES’s financial framework.

“Taking 100% control of O3b exceptionally strengthens the SES differentiation. O3b allows SES to expand its global reach and solutions, augments SES’s essential capabilities across the data-centric verticals and enhances SES’s foundations for sustainable growth,” commented SES president and CEO Karim Michel Sabbagh.