Proposed acquisition of Inmarsat plc by Connect Bidco Ltd: public interest intervention
Notice relating to the proposed acquisition of Inmarsat plc by Connect Bidco Ltd.
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On 25 March 2019, Inmarsat plc announced it had agreed with Connect Bidco Ltd, a private equity-led consortium, the terms of a recommended cash acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Inmarsat plc. Subsequently, on 10 May 2019, the Inmarsat shareholders agreed to the potential takeover. The consortium is a Joint Venture owned in equal shares by four large financial investment groups: Apax (part of a group which took Inmarsat private in 2003 and publicly floated it in 2005), Warburg Pincus, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board (OTPPB).
Under the powers set out in the Enterprise Act 2002, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is able to intervene on national security grounds. This responsibility is discharged in a quasi-judicial capacity.
On 22 July 2019, the Secretary of State issued a public interest intervention notice (PIIN), confirming that he is intervening in the sale on national security grounds. In reaching this decision, he considered the representations received from the Secretary of State for Defence, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will prepare a report on the competition and national security aspects of the proposed transaction. The CMA has until midnight on 17 September 2019 to complete and submit this report to the Secretary of State.