Israeli satellite operator Spacecom has said it is exploring a sale or merger after being approached by interested parties.
Local reports claim the group has hired JP Morgan to advise on a deal worth US$500m-US$600m, double its current market…
Israeli satellite operator Spacecom has said it is exploring a sale or merger after being approached by interested parties.
Local reports claim the group has hired JP Morgan to advise on a deal worth US$500m-US$600m, double its current market cap.
However, the company said in a stock exchange filing on 11 December that the process was at a very early stage and there was no certainty that a transaction would take place.
Spacecom, which is owned by Israeli tycoon Shaul Elovitch’s private holding company Eurocom, declined to comment.
As well as a stake in Israeli service provider Gilat Satellite Networks, Eurocom owns 50.2% of local DTH operator YES. Israeli telco Bezeq owns the rest of YES, and last month it revealed it was reviewing options to increase its stake after the country’s regulator set out the requirements it would need to meet to avoid competition concerns.
Spacecom is being put on the block shortly after it wrapped up US$293m in financing for its upcoming satellite Amos-6. The 8.5-year funding comprises loans from the US and Canadian export credit agencies as well as US$47m in debt from Israeli satellite manufacturer IAI.
Commenting on the financing in November, Spacecom CEO David Pollack said Amos-6 will be an important building block as it looks to “grow further in our programme toward becoming a global satellite operator”.
Amos-6 will be launched by SpaceX in 2015 to Spacecom’s 4W hotspot, where it will expand the company’s mainly Central and Eastern Europe and Middle East service regions by adding Western Europe and multi-beam coverage over parts of Africa.
