EchoStar Corporation and Hughes Communications have agreed a deal which will see EchoStar acquire all of the outstanding equity of Hughes and its subsidiaries including its main operating subsidiary, Hughes Network Systems, LLC in a transaction valued at approximately $2 billion, aimed at creating a worldwide leader in satellite-delivered video and broadband services. Under the […]
Shares in US digital satellite operator Dish Network rose sharply following a suggestion by financial services group Credit Suisse that telco AT&T may make a bid to buy the company. Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin said in a note that AT&T could be interested in Dish’s wireless spectrum assets. He said these make Dish an […]
US-based hedge fund Harbinger Capital will sell down its entire holdings in London-based Inmarsat. Harbinger, controlled by Philip Falcone, held 14 per cent of Inmarsat, about 64.3 million shares. Inmarsat had long been thought of as a takeover target for Harbinger, where it once held 28 per cent of the company. Harbinger sold down half […]
Cisco is to acquire privately-held Inlet Technologies, a provider of Adaptive Bit Rate (ABR) digital media processing platforms, in a $95 million deal. The acquisition will strengthen the capabilities of Cisco’s Videoscape TV platform, allowing service and content providers to deliver compelling video experiences to any device over any IP network. Enrique Rodriguez, senior vice […]
Softbank has become the leading shareholder in Synacast, the operator of a leading online television service in China, adding to the list of its investments in Chinese Internet companies. The Japanese mobile carrier has acquired a 35 per cent equity stake in Synacast for about 20 billion yen (€2.2bn) via a private placement. Softbank and […]
US private equity group Hellman & Friedman has teamed up with Patrick Tillieux, the former head of SBS Broadcasting, to bid for the Benelux and Nordic television channels he used to run, which are being sold by Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1. The €2 billion+ auction is still in its early stages, according to ProSieben. As many as […]
Belgian cable operator Telenet is considering a bid for the Brussels-based unit of France’s Numericable, which would open a market beyond the group’s base in the north of the country, according to Reuters. “We are looking at this asset, just like we are looking at other assets in the cable sector, but we won’t give […]
Liberty Global, rival cable group Kabel Deutschland and a number of private equity groups have emerged as bidders in the €2.5 billion-€3 billion ($3.4bn-$4.1bn) auction of Kabel Baden-Württemberg, Germany’s third-largest cable operator. Initial bids for the company, which provides television, telephone and Internet services to 2.3 million customers in the southwestern German region, are due […]
Fifty-seven per cent of satellite broadband supplier Hughes Communications is being put up for sale by private equity investor Apollo. Intelsat, Echostar and Inmarsat are each said to be looking at the stake and have expressed interest. Maryland-based Hughes sells satellite capacity, including broadband, to the US government, large businesses and private consumers not well […]
Comcast Corporation and General Electric have closed their transaction to create a joint venture, NBCUniversal, LLC. Under the terms of the transaction, GE contributed to the joint venture NBC Universal, Inc.’s businesses, including its cable networks, filmed entertainment, televised entertainment, theme parks, and unconsolidated investments. Comcast contributed its cable networks, including E!, Versus and the […]