Israeli transmission solutions provider Satlink Communications is negotiating with a number of acquisition targets as it looks to expand across Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
Satlink CEO David Hochner told SatelliteFinance that his company was in due…
Israeli transmission solutions provider Satlink Communications is negotiating with a number of acquisition targets as it looks to expand across Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
Satlink CEO David Hochner told SatelliteFinance that his company was in due diligence with a variety of companies, including other teleport operators.
“I believe close to the IBC [6-11 September conference] we will announce something,” he said.
Satlink is owned by majority shareholder Eurocom, the Israeli telecoms group, which also holds sizeable stakes in local satellite operator Spacecom and vendor Gilat Satellite Networks. Globecast, France Telecom’s satellite services subsidiary, is a minority shareholder of Satlink.
Hochner said the shareholders were supportive of its plan to bolster international operations through strategic acquisitions, although the company intends to finance this growth through its own resources.
He declined to disclose how much cash on hand the company has, but said it could consider tapping the debt markets for the first time if it saw a need to.
“If there is a reason for that we can consider a variety [of options] – loans, IPO – there’s a variety of solutions if you need to raise finance,” he said.
“At the moment we are financing everything from our own incomes.”
Satlink provides transmission solutions to a range of clients across the globe, from pay-tv firms to satellite operators. As well as having extensive fibre and IP networks, the group leverages on its partnerships with satellite operators such as SES to distribute capacity.
According to Hochner, around 30% of Satlink’s current business comprises governmental services. However, although the company has been impacted by a general decline in government spending around the world, coupled with the recent US military withdrawal from Iraq, he said it is being lifted by the variety of services it is able to offer.
For instance, it is still seeing strong government demand for disaster recovery applications for natural disasters.
Hochner said: “I think that within two years there will probably be more demand for [governmental] applications because there will be more Ka-band, especially in the Middle East market. So I believe the Ka-band satellites, which will come from Inmarsat, Jabiru, Amos, O3b and others, will definitely have a role in the growth of this sector.”
The satellite services sector has undergone a great deal of consolidation over the past couple of years, and Hochner also revealed that Satlink had itself been approached “several times” by prospective buyers.
However, he said these offers had not been entertained as Satlink sought to focus on its own growth ambitions.
The company declined to comment further.
