Inmarsat swoops on Globe Wireless

Incat CEO Rupert Pearce calls the acquisition "a truly exciting cross-selling opportunity for our channel partners and ourselves, across the entire Inmarsat installed maritime base"

DECEMBER 17, 2013 — Satcom giant Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L), today announced the acquisition of the business and substantially all of the assets of Palm Bay, FL, headquartered Globe Wireless LLC, a leading provider of value-added maritime communications services to the shipping market.

The acquisition of Globe Wireless, which has an installed customer base of more than 6,000 ships, offers “a highly compelling transaction for Inmarsat,” says Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat.

“Accessing the Globe Wireless portfolio offers a truly exciting cross-selling opportunity for our channel partners and ourselves, across the entire Inmarsat installed maritime base,” adds Mr. Pearce.

Inmarsat say the deal has been driven by multiple strategic benefits:

• Access to a skilled engineering team that will expand Inmarsat’s installation capabilities and enable a faster roll-out of XpressLink and Global Xpress
• The acquisition of a portfolio of value-added services (VAS) for maritime customers that will enable Inmarsat to move beyond pure connectivity to offer solutions and managed services to the maritime market
• A VAS range that can immediately be offered to Inmarsat’s existing maritime customers, via channel partners and direct to end-users, increasing revenue per user growth

Frank Coles, President of Inmarsat Maritime, comments: “Globe Wireless has created a suite of products and value-added services that are unequalled in the market today.

“By combining this with our FleetBroadband and Global Xpress services we believe we can further enhance our position as the leading provider of services to the maritime market.”

Mr. Coles adds that the Globe Wireless team will bring with them a highly unique set of skills, from software development and direct relationships with customers through their sales team, to “touch the ship” support and installation capabilities. The result is that Inmarsat will be able to offer its channel partners a unique managed service and remove the need for partners to invest the time, funds and other resources into duplicative R&D.

The US$45 million deal will be completed in January 2014, subject to certain regulatory and other approvals, and the integration of Globe Wireless with Inmarsat’s maritime business unit is expected to deliver improvement in profitability within the first year.