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The U.K. government intends to approve a $3.4 billion takeover of British satellite company Inmarsat PLC (ISAT.LN) by private equity investors and pension funds.
The U.K. culture secretary, Nicky Morgan, said late Wednesday that she considers undertakings offered by Inmarsat ISAT, +0.17% and Connect Bidco — the consortium that agreed to buy it in March — to mitigate national-security risks are appropriate and that the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority found no competition issues arising from the deal.
Inmarsat in March said it had accepted an offer from a consortium formed by Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus LLC, as well as the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. However, the U.K. government in July moved to intervene in the deal to examine its national-security impact.
To address concerns raised by the U.K. Ministry of Defense, the companies pledged to maintain existing security measures and implement enhanced controls to protect sensitive information and technology from unauthorized access as well as to continue the provision of certain capabilities and to maintain a U.K.-registered company to ensure that services remain under the country’s jurisdiction, Morgan said.
Morgan on Wednesday launched a consultation period on the draft remedies proposed by the companies, which will run until Oct. 24, but said she proposed to accept them instead of referring the deal to an in-depth probe.
