Hong Kong-based satellite broadband provider SpeedCast has snapped up a second teleport in Australia by acquiring Australian Satellite Communications (ASC).
SpeedCast, which was acquired by private equity firm TA Associates in September for around…
Hong Kong-based satellite broadband provider SpeedCast has snapped up a second teleport in Australia by acquiring Australian Satellite Communications (ASC).
SpeedCast, which was acquired by private equity firm TA Associates in September for around US$32m, declined to disclose financial details. A spokesman said privately-held ASC had 31 employees when the sale closed.
The deal gives SpeedCast control of ASC’s teleport in Adelaide, which will complement its existing teleport facility in Perth. It comes as VSAT services in the country are predicted to grow due to strong demand from the natural resource market and large-scale government projects, such as the National Broadband Network initiative.
Pierre-Jean Beylier, SpeedCast’s CEO, said: “As a profitable and rapidly growing company, ASC is an ideal fit with SpeedCast’s global growth strategy.
“SpeedCast is executing on its strategy of organic and acquisitive growth. With the acquisition of ASC, SpeedCast consolidates its leadership position in Asia and extends its penetration into the important Australian market, particularly for the oil and gas and mining verticals.”
Before being acquired by TA Associates earlier this year, SpeedCast was a wholly-owned subsidiary of satellite operator AsiaSat.
The company has offices around the world but is particularly focused on providing managed networks services in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, where analysts at Comsys forecast VSAT revenues to increase at an 8% compound annual growth rate over the next five years – approximately twice the rate of Western markets.
A SpeedCast spokesman said the company, and its private equity owner, are continuing to eye acquisition opportunities as it seeks to grow in emerging markets.
TA Associates’ buyout of Speedcast was the firm’s eighth investment in Asia to date, following five deals in India and two in China, which spanned industries ranging from telecoms to healthcare.
The private equity firm hired Goodwin Procter for advice on the ASC acquisition. SpeedCast hired Allens, an affiliate of Linklaters.
