Japanese mobile operator KDDI Corporation has sold its 4.85% stake in Inmarsat via an accelerated bookbuild that raised around £183m (US$283m).
The company sold 21.74 million ordinary shares at 840 pence per share, a 5.35% discount to Inmarsat’s…
Japanese mobile operator KDDI Corporation has sold its 4.85% stake in Inmarsat via an accelerated bookbuild that raised around £183m (US$283m).
The company sold 21.74 million ordinary shares at 840 pence per share, a 5.35% discount to Inmarsat’s closing price of 23 February, the day prior to the sale. Nomura was the sole bookrunner for the transaction.
KDDI is a legacy shareholder in Inmarsat, having held its stake long before the satellite operator’s initial public offering in September 2005.
The Japanese company was not available for comment as to why it has sold its stake. However, it coincides with Inmarsat’s share price trading at historic highs. The stock peaked at 898 pence on 13 February and has remained above 800 pence since mid-December. The only other time the share price had topped 800 pence was in June 2010 when it briefly reached 818 pence.
SatelliteFinance also understands that despite its long term holding, KDDI did not have a place on the Inmarsat board and as such had no visibility on the company’s forthcoming results, due to be announced on 5 March.
As well as holding a stake in Inmarsat, KDDI acts as a value added reseller for the MSS operator. This relationship is not thought to be affected by the stake sale.
