German satellite solutions provider CETel is on the look out for further acquisition opportunities after snapping up local teleport firm Teleport Kabel Deutschland.
CETel announced 8 August that it had acquired Teleport Kabel Deutschland, which was…
German satellite solutions provider CETel is on the look out for further acquisition opportunities after snapping up local teleport firm Teleport Kabel Deutschland.
CETel announced 8 August that it had acquired Teleport Kabel Deutschland, which was designed and built by Germany-based systems integrator Hitron, for an undisclosed sum. The deal enables CETel to address rising demand for new satellite services as it continues to expand its offering, according to its Co-MD Martin Terlunen.
“CETel group has grown tremendously in the past few years and [continues] the company’s strategy to provide tailored solutions for every kind of satellite based communication requests,” said Terlunen.
CETel’s latest acquisition last year saw it buy France-based rival SeaMobile Europe, now called Geolink Satellite Services (GSS). The group also has operations in the UAE.
Speaking to SatelliteFinance, Co-MD Guido Neumann, who jointly owns CETel with Terlunen, said the company was still open to further acquisition opportunities.
“New acquisitions are mainly driven by the right chances at the right time,” he said.
“In regards to the recent deal, our focus was on growing our teleport infrastructure in order to cover additional satellites, mainly for maritime services … We consider opportunities as they arise. France is a good example – this company [GSS] fitted our business as it was similar to a typical customer of ours. The previous owner had decided to stop its European operations and to sell it, so it was a good chance.
“The main factor for our acquisition strategy is to look at businesses for further growth and to optimise the cost structure based on the migration to our operations environment.”
To this end, Neumann said the group was not only interested in further teleport deals, but it would also consider buying hardware providers. He added that, as well as being interested in growth opportunities in existing markets, CETel was also eyeing emerging regions too.
“We would be interested in South America and Africa if there is a good opportunity,” he explained.
“Sometimes we get information that a company is for sale, and we always look into it if it makes sense.”
Neumann would not discuss financial details of its past transactions, but said the group plans to continue financing its acquisitions by cash, without any third party or bank loan.
“We are not big friends of debt, because we never know what will happen in the future,” he said.
As with the SeaMobile deal, CETel did not use any external advisers for the Teleport Kabel Deutschland acqusition. The group, including GSS, reported €20m in revenues and €2.5m in EBITDA for 2011.
Consolidation in the satellite services sector has been an increasing trend in recent years, as companies seek to gain scale and realise cost synergies.
The failure of many small operators in the past has often been blamed on an over exposure to one particular segment of the market. As satellite operators lean towards greater vertical integration, the teleport industry is also contending with greater channel conflict.
