|
Monday, 22 October 2007 |
|
Approval for the sale of Intelsat marks an all-time low for the satellite comms sector.
Intergovernmental satellite organisations were pretty cool, once upon a time. Intelsat, Eutelsat and Inmarsat were heavenly embodiments of the notion that the inner-space environment was a common resource best entrusted to treaty organisations and the aforementioned ersatz companies that resulted.
Even ten years ago you could make a convincing case for this. Now, references to these constellations of satellites are just another way of saying ‘space junk’. Fibre proliferation and many notable (if failed) private competitors have seen to that, backed up by a string of misguided or putative IPOs.
The EU confirmed that today: “The European Commission has granted clearance under the EU Merger Regulation to the acquisition of sole control of Intelsat of Bermuda by Serafina Holdings Limited, also of Bermuda, formed by funds managed by CIE Management II Limited of the UK. Serafina is a special purpose vehicle formed and managed by BCP Funds, a group of private equity investment funds. Intelsat provides global voice, data, video and wholesale internet communications services via satellites.”
The truth is that Intelsat doesn’t matter any more. Bermuda: gateway to the solar system.
Jim Chalmers
|
