California-based Viasat is acquiring London-based Inmarsat in a transaction valued at $7.3bn, comprised of $850m in cash, approximately 46.36m shares of Viasat common stock valued at $3.1bn based on the closing price on Friday November 5, 2021, and the assumption of $3.4bn of net debt.

The combined company intends to integrate the spectrum, satellite and terrestrial assets of both firms into a global high-capacity hybrid space and terrestrial network.

The merged company will be able to offer a broad portfolio of spectrum licenses across the Ka-, L- and S-bands and a fleet of 19 satellites in service with an additional 10 spacecraft under construction and planned for launch within the next three years.

It will also offer a global Ka-band footprint, including planned polar coverage, to support bandwidth-intensive applications, augmented by L-band assets that support all-weather resilience and narrowband and IoT connectivity.

“This is a transformative combination that advances our common ambitions to connect the world. The unique fusion of teams, technologies and resources provides the ingredients and scale needed for profitable growth through the creation and delivery of innovative broadband and IoT services in new and existing fast-growing segments and geographies,” said Viasat’s executive chairman Mark Dankberg. “Inmarsat’s dual-band global mobile network, unique L-band resources, skills and capabilities in the UK and excellent technical and operational talent worldwide, are powerful complements to Viasat’s business. Together, we can advance broadband communications and create new hybrid space and terrestrial networks that drive greater performance, coverage, speed, reliability and value for customers. We look forward to welcoming the Inmarsat team into the Viasat family.”