SatelliteFinance understands that the sales process for Norwegian VSAT provider Ship Equip is down to three bidders – Inmarsat, Vizada and a Norwegian private equity firm.
Final bids are due in the week beginning 7 March with the seller aiming for a…
SatelliteFinance understands that the sales process for Norwegian VSAT provider Ship Equip is down to three bidders – Inmarsat, Vizada and a Norwegian private equity firm.
Final bids are due in the week beginning 7 March with the seller aiming for a valuation of around Nkr640m (US$107m).
UBS is running the process.
According to one source, initial interest from the likes of satellite communications services company Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN) and oil & gas industry communications specialist RigNet fizzled out, while Inmarsat entered the fray later in the process. The source argued that the logic for Inmarsat would be about bolstering the company’s maritime communications business prior to the launch of its next generation Ka-band constellation Global Xpress in 2014.
Though it was initially established as a satellite TV provider in the early 1990s, Ship Equip later expanded into the maritime sector. The company now primarily focuses on the lucrative international commercial shipping market with more than 800 vessels including oil/gas offshore support vessels (OSVs), tankers, freighters and commercial fishing boats currently utilising the company’s VSAT system.
Ship Equip reported fiscal 2009 turnover of Nkr268.9m (US$49m), while fiscal 2010 revenues are thought to be approximately NKr315m (US$53m) with EBITDA of NKr64m (US$10.6m). The company is predicting that revenues will rise to Nkr800m (US$133.7m) and EBITDA to NKr300m (US$50m) by 2014.
