It took two years and nearly US$2 billion, but Lockheed Martin's acquisition of Comsat is official, and the newly formed company will offer a variety of networking and satellite services under the name Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications.
The transaction was completed earlier this month with Comsat shareholders accepting a one-for-one swap of Lockheed Martin shares. After the long regulatory battle to get the deal through, officials appeared eager to start the new company rolling.
"The strategic underpinning for the transaction is as strong today as when first proposed, and we're anxious to move ahead and expand LMGT's role in this dynamic marketplace," says Vance Coffman, chief executive of Lockheed Martin (www.lockheedmartin.com).
The newly formed company has 2,200 employees worldwide, and plans to expand its Internet Protocol (IP) products and services offering to capitalise on the big-bandwidth capability of the former Comsat's access to the Intelsat and Inmarsat satellite systems. Through existing contracts, the new company has 1,400 customers in 11 countries in its Network Services division.
"The [Comsat purchase] means deeper pockets, and we have a little broader charter at this point," says Jack Hangen, director of business development for the LMGT products group.
Hangen is working to update and enhance the company's LinkWay product line, which offers Net connectivity to 75 to 100 enterprise and Internet service provider (ISP) customers. Company officials projected the corporation's revenue will reach US$1 billion per year.
"The worldwide demand for telecommunications services is growing rapidly, and we've created a new force in the marketplace to unlock the value of our telecommunications assets," says John Sponyoe, CEO of LMGT (www.lmgt.com).
The acquisition of Comsat was mired in a lengthy and complex regulatory review that threatened more than once to scuttle the deal. It finally took an act of Congress to clear the privatisation issues surrounding the quasi-governmental international Intelsat and Inmarsat systems, of which the US is a signatory through Comsat.
Earlier this month, the United States Federal Communications Commission gave its blessing. The acquisition had been the centerpiece of Coffman's effort to improve Lockheed's commercial business prospects. ENDS
