European Aeronautic Defence And Space Co. (EADS) yesterday said its Astrium subsidiary has entered into an agreement to acquire Vizada from Apax France, a French private equity fund and the majority shareholder for $960 million.
The transaction is subject to the customary regulatory approvals.
Vizada is a leading independent provider of global, satellite-based mobility communication services, serving customers across sectors including maritime, aero, land media, non-governmental organizations and government/defense. Through all satellite network operators, it offers mobile and fixed connectivity services directly and through a distribution network of more than 400 re-sellers.
Vizada expects to generate around $660 million in revenue and $95 million EBITDA in 2011, EADS said.
EADS Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer Marwan Lahoud said, “Further to the recent acquisitions of Vector Aerospace in Canada and Metron in the United States, as well as the on-going public offering for Satair in Denmark, this acquisition marks a further step towards the realization of EADS strategy to balance platforms with services, develop business in North America and diversity in its workforce.”
The acquisition is another milestone in making the company’s Vision 2020 a reality, LaHoud said. “This is clearly an accretive transaction for EADS shareholders and will generate significant synergies.”
Eric Beranger, CEO of Astrium Services, said, “Vizada being a world leader in commercial satcom services is the perfect complement to our existing satellite communications portfolio which is heavily focused on governmental and secure civil satcom. Bringing Vizada together with Astrium will enable us to be more innovative, diversifying our range of services and providing out customers with greater flexibility.”
The growing demand for maritime services is a perfect cornerstone for Astrium to develop its commercial satellite communications business, the companies said in their statement. Vizada is one of the leaders in such services for which there is a clear market demand. This also offers multiple development potential in subsectors such as the military, commercial, fishing, and leisure. Vizada also serves other market verticals such as media, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) mining and government sectors.
Vizada has built up a sizable business with the U.S. government. This year, Vizada was awarded a General Service Administration contract to provide mobile satellite services access for the U.S. government and military customers. The French and German armed forces are other major government customers.