U.K. Government Set to Approve $3.4 Billion Inmarsat Buyout

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. is set to approve the private equity buyout of satellite company Inmarsat Plc, after officials said Wednesday the $3.4 billion transaction does not appear to present competition or national security concerns.

Commitments made by the buyers, which included a pledge to keep the company in the U.K. for several years and continue with research and development in Britain, were enough to avoid a deeper investigation into the deal, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said Wednesday.

The undertakings are “intended to provide assurances that sensitive information is protected and enhanced security controls are in place to ensure the continued supply of key services used by the Ministry of Defence,” according to the department’s statement. A final consultation on the deal is scheduled to conclude Oct. 24.

Separately, the Competition and Markets Authority said in a statement the purchase need not “be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within a market or markets in the U.K. for goods or services.”

Inmarsat helps with British border security and provides communications for the armed forces, which raised questions about national defense. The satellite operator has said it expects the deal to close in the fourth quarter.

The buyout group, which includes Apax Partners, Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, is acquiring Inmarsat via Connect Bidco Ltd, a joint-venture company owned in equal shares. Apax was part of a consortium of investors that bought Inmarsat in 2003 and took it public two years later.

Representatives for Inmarsat and the purchasing consortium did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Seal in London at tseal@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Thomas Pfeiffer at tpfeiffer3@bloomberg.net, Jennifer Ryan, Tara Patel

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