Report: Inmarsat Gets $3.4B Takeover Bid From Private Equity Firms, Pension Funds

Global satellite communications firm Inmarsat has received a $3.4B takeover offer from a consortium of private equity firms and Canada-based pension funds, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Apax Partners, Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers™ Pension Plan Board made a $7.21-per-share bid for Inmarsat through a joint venture owned in equal shares.

Rupert Pearce, Inmarsat CEO, said the consortium is committed to keeping the company™s headquarters in the U.K. and supporting its research-and-development efforts.

Lansdowne Partners, which has an 11.4 percent stake in Inmarsat, is supporting the transaction and the remaining shareholders are expected to decide on the offer before May 31, the report noted.

The U.K.-based satcom contractor turned down a takeover bid from Colorado-based EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) in June, saying the offer œundervalued the business.

Inmarsat has been serving government customers worldwide for over three decades and operates in the U.S. through its wholly owned subsidiary Inmarsat Government, which provides mobile satcom services to defense, intelligence and federal civilian agencies through its multiband network infrastructure.

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