One equity analyst thinks Eutelsat’s potential bid for London-based Inmarsat is “questionable” and “offers no strategic benefits to Eutelsat’s core Video and Consumer Broadband” services which represent 80 per cent of Eutelsat’s revenue streams. Eutelsat itself stressed June 26th (and just 24 hours after saying that it was interested) that it does not intend to […]

A note to clients from investment bank Exane/BNPP says that, in the bank’s view, “Echostar is likely to make a formal bid for Inmarsat.” The Exane note examines the rationale behind EchoStar’s move and how EchoStar’s co-founder and chairman, Charlie Ergen, might value the target business. The bank states: “The key question in our view […]

Denver-based EchoStar on June 22nd revealed it had bought a 3 per cent equity stake in satellite operator Inmarsat, and had mopped up 10.4 per cent of Inmarsat’s convertible bonds. The news sent Inmarsat’s share’s into orbit, rising 10.6 per cent. The financial moves were made prior to EchoStar’s recent approach to acquire Inmarsat and […]

One year ago, and when Intelsat’s share price was at a pretty miserable $3 a share its prospects were far from good. Burdened by a massive debt load, it was no surprise that the sharks were circling. Yesterday, Intelsat’s share price ended a whisker away from $20 (and with a 26.8 per cent rise at […]

The BBC told a London conference June 19th that OTT transmissions were the way forward, and certainly for its few and far between Ultra HD broadcasts. The BBC is making available UHD signals via its iPlayer service of the current FIFA World Cup football matches, but declined to give any idea as to the numbers […]

Investment bank Berenberg held its London satellite conference last week and in a comprehensive report stated that the event presented “an upbeat outlook for the industry”. “The emphasis at our satellites conference was on data, rather than on video, with all participants in agreement that the demand for bytes is huge, and that the satellite […]

In January, a new company, US-based Swarm Technologies, launched 4 tiny satellites (‘Space Bees’) each barely larger than a slice of bread.  The FCC told Swarm in December last year that they could not launch the satellites from the US until such time that the company had coordinated their transmission frequencies, and specifically that the […]

Last week, EchoStar of Denver made an unsolicited bid for London-based Inmarsat. Inmarsat said the terms on offer “very significantly” undervalued the business.  Inmarsat added, not unsurprisingly, that it remained highly confident in its strategy and future prospects, which is – no doubt – precisely why EchoStar made its bid. A year ago, Inmarsat’s share […]

The amount that was being bid by Charlie Ergen’s EchoStar for Lon don-based satellite operator Inmarsat is not known. What is known is that Inmarsat strongly rejected the amount on the table. A detailed note from equity analysts at investment bank Jefferies suggests that Inmarsat should be holding out for at least £11 per share […]

Intelsat issued a “Shelf Registration Statement” with the Securities & Exchange Commission last week, along with an updated prospectus. There was no specific amount mentioned, or any clue as to when (or if) the document will be effective. Intelsat, within the filing, says it “may” use the prospectus to offer “from time to time” new […]