SES is set to complete its acquisition of O3b Networks.
The satellite communications company, which already held a 49.1 per cent stake in the company, has parted with around $730 million to secure the remaining shares.
The transaction, expected to be completed on 1 August, comes as SES looks to take advantage of O3b’s ‘unique and global’ high throughput, low latency solution to enhance its foundations for sustainable growth.
Karim Michel Sabbagh, president and CEO of SES, said, “Moving to 100 per cent of O3b will be highly accretive for SES, both from a strategic and economic standpoint.
“In addition to exceeding SES’s investment hurdle rates, full consolidation accelerates the delivery of important transformational and combinational synergies that are only possible with 100 per cent ownership.”
SES stated that, following the acquisition, the solution should generate €53 million of annual commercial, operational, product development and financial synergies in 2017, increasing to €106 million annually by 2021.
Padraig McCarthy, CFO of SES, said, “The acquisition of O3b – the fastest growing satellite network – significantly enhances SES’s long-term growth profile.
“Looking forward, both SES and O3b will benefit from the strong synergies and strategic fit across both businesses.”
