Gilat Satellite Networks has agreed to sell its managed services provider subsidiary Spacenet to US-based SageNet for approximately US$16m.
Gilat said that the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close within three…
Gilat Satellite Networks has agreed to sell its managed services provider subsidiary Spacenet to US-based SageNet for approximately US$16m.
Gilat said that the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close within three months.
The purchase price represents a valuation multiple of 8 times Spacenet’s fiscal 2012 EBITDA and will result in a capital loss of up to US$3m for Gilat. The subsidiary generated FY2012 revenue of approximately US$77m, EBITDA of US$2m and an operating loss of US$2m.
Gilat stated that the main reason behind the sale was that Spacenet, which currently operates as part of Gilat’s Services Division, no longer fitted into its strategy of focusing on its core satellite communications business.
Erez Antebi, CEO of Gilat commented: “The sale of Spacenet will allow us to better focus our assets and management attention on our core business strategy and strategic target markets.”
Founded in 1981, Spacenet has transitioned over the last few years from primarily a VSAT services company into a managed network services company. As such, it is now a much better fit for SageNet, which specialises in mission-critical managed network services.
Nonetheless, as a long-term operator of Gilat products and solutions and with over 20 networks and over 100,000 VSATs currently supported, post-closing, Spacenet is expected to become a major customer for Gilat.
