Inmarsat receives Viasat merger approval from Australia

Edinburgh / Carlsbad, California / London, 1 November 2022. –  Global mobile satellite communications services provider Inmarsat, and global communications company Viasat got approval from the Australian Government’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) for the planned combination of their businesses, Inmarsat said.

FIRB’s clearance is significant to the merger as Australia is an important market with significant business and customer relationships. The proposed transaction has previously got the green light from the UK Government and from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

Meanwhile, secure, global, mission-critical satellite communications provider Inmarsat Government, has been awarded the US Navy Commercial Broadband Satellite Program (CBSP) Satellite Services Contract (CSSC II). The contract awarded by the US Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is for complex and worldwide end-to-end commercial satellite communications (SATCOM) services. The ceiling value of the Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract is US $980 million over a 10-year period.

Under the agreement, Inmarsat Government will deliver satellite capabilities via Inmarsat Global Xpress Ka-band, as well as C-, Ku- and X-band frequencies. The services will be utilized on crewed and uncrewed maritime, airborne and ground platforms. The company will also provide commercial teleport services, cybersecurity, backhaul connectivity, operations, monitoring and control.

The CSSC II program follows a previous CSSC contract where Inmarsat Government was the prime contractor.