British satellite giant Inmarsat gets green light for $3.4bn takeover
The government has given the green light for a $3.4bn (£2.6bn) private equity buyout of British satellite giant Inmarsat.
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Culture secretary Nicky Morgan today said she has waved through the merger after accepting a series of remedies put forward by Inmarsat and its buyers – a consortium led by Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus.
The takeover, first announced in March, came under scrutiny from regulators and the government amid concerns about national security.
However, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gave its approval for the deal in September, stating that there was no risk of a substantial lessening of competition.
Inmarsat and the consortium then put forward a series of undertakings, which included a pledge to keep the firm in the UK for several years and a series of measures to help protect sensitive information.
The Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) today said it had decided to accept the undertakings, meaning the deal will not be referred to the CMA for a phase two inquiry.
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“The secretary of state remains of the view that the undertakings are appropriate for the purpose of remedying, mitigating or preventing any of the effects adverse to the public interest which may be expected to result from the creation of the relevant merger situation,” DCMS said in a statement.
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