Inmarsat Share Discussion Threads

[jamie62] 26/6/2018 16:12

Might be time to top up.

[naraick1] 26/6/2018 11:33

Around 450p

[naraick1] 26/6/2018 11:33

Around 450p expect Echostar to bid around 730 p / share lmo

[wynmck] 26/6/2018 11:19

what was the share price before the Echostar bid came in?

[kalkaar] 26/6/2018 10:58

FT Aplhaville suggesting Eutelsat was never a serious bidder given it's debt position.. more trying to make any rival bidder pay more for ISAT..



relevant section taken from:


"Does this change anything with the Echostar bid? No, not really. Eutelsat was always seen as an outside chance as a counterbidder given its debt.

11:28 am
BE Will Echostar pay up? We've no idea.

11:29 am BE
Though you'd note that Echostar buying 10% of the convertible gives them a certain amount of downside protection in case of a counterbidder. So, eyes towards Viasat probably.

[zcaprd7] 26/6/2018 09:16

A very French approach from eutelsat, it was quite improbable, but I would like to see a few more bidders emerge - I guess they are all waiting for EchoStar's deadline?

[wad collector] 26/6/2018 08:23

Well done anyone who sold yesterday!
Not me unfortunately. But a good few days for the traders and the MMs.

[zcaprd7] 26/6/2018 08:03

Yes, very poor show, I imagine there was some shouting in the eutelsat boardroom yesterday evening!

[kalkaar] 26/6/2018 07:40

can't recall ever seeing a company throw it's hat in the ring one day then remove it the morning after but keep a retained interest should the circumstances change?!

they could have just sat on the sidelines with a watching brief.. but probably didn't fancy it's own shares being pummelled with the speculation/uncertainty etc.

anyhow shouldn't change much for ISAT holders

Ball still very much in Echostar's court..

[kamitora] 26/6/2018 07:26

Eutelsat strategising. Information leaks. They own up. Stock immediately drops 7%. Shareholders phone the leadership and say "no". Not an uncommon sequence of events.

Also, keeping their options open would have actually involved doing nothing. They've ruled themselves out of making the first formal bid for six months. This is the definition of reducing their options. I expect if they still harbour aspirations towards ISAT they'll be having intensive major shareholder discussions in the near future.

[redchef] 26/6/2018 07:25

Well I read that as 'we won't be bidding unless as a spoiler should a major competitor try and get ISAT on the cheap'

[jurgenklopp] 26/6/2018 07:23

Eutelsat are just keeping their options open. They reserve the right to bid if anyone else makes an offer for Inmarsat. Perfectly sensible course of action.

I still expect a contest between more than one potential suitor.

The ball is now in Echostar's court up to 6 July or, hopefully, before.

Plenty of potential left.

[volsung] 26/6/2018 07:15

Logged on and I was rich. Now I'm not again. Oh well

[steeplejack] 26/6/2018 07:14

Funny old world.I guess the more cynical of you might have dark thoughts that the whole procedure was contrived.

[argylerich] 26/6/2018 07:03

Well that didn't take them long!

[samdb] 26/6/2018 07:02

They're in the same position they were yesterday - they won't bid unless someone else does.

[kamitora] 26/6/2018 06:56

Eutelsat has withdrawn.

[zcaprd7] 25/6/2018 23:21

Eutelsat is just one of a long list of potential bidders mooted by City analysts. RBC Capital Markets speculated in the wake of EchoStar's bid that large mobile operators, private equity and satellite firms SES and Viasat could also be circling.Eutelsat's interest extended Inmarsat's winning streak to a fifth day, boosting London's hottest takeover target 26.2p to 632.2p.

[kalkaar] 25/6/2018 20:45

Bidding war looms over UK satellite group Inmarsat

Eutelsat’s interest follows ‘highly preliminary’ offer from EchoStar of the US

Nic Fildes, Telecoms Correspondent

A bidding war looms over UK satellite company Inmarsat after French rival Eutelsat said on Monday it was considering a bid.

EchoStar, the US satellite company controlled by billionaire Charlie Ergen, made a “highly preliminary” offer for Inmarsat earlier this month that was rejected by Inmarsat, which said the bid significantly undervalued its business. The US company, which has built up a 3 per cent stake in Inmarsat, has until July 6 to make a formal offer.

Eutelsat, which is being advised by Goldman Sachs, said it was “evaluating a possible offer”. It has until July 23 to make a formal bid.

Inmarsat’s share price more than halved between last August and March this year, which had made it vulnerable to a bid.

British politicians have expressed alarm that the UK’s only significant satellite group could fall into foreign hands after the EchoStar interest. A bid from Eutelsat would follow a bitter row in the European satellite industry between Brussels and the UK government over Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system.

Inmarsat’s stock jumped 4.3 to 632.2p, while Eutelsat’s shares dropped 6.2 per cent to €16.53. The French company, which had €3.6bn of debt at the end of 2017, has a market value of €3.8bn compared to Inmarsat’s £3.2bn.

Inmarsat declined to comment.

Analysts had considered Eutelsat to be an unlikely bidder for Inmarsat, as it said in April that it would launch its own Ka-band satellite, called Konnect VHTS, which will come on line in 2021. The plan, which included an agreement with French telecoms group Orange to supply broadband in remote areas, was seen as a sign that it wanted to launch its own satellites rather than make a play for its UK rival.

Some have questioned the rationale for consolidation within the satellite sector, given that there is little overlap between the largest companies and that financial benefits from cutting operating costs would be limited. Jefferies, the investment bank, has suggested that EchoStar’s interest in Inmarsat is driven by the UK company’s spectrum holdings in the US.

[extrader] 25/6/2018 16:21

Hi all, From my 3525,

...Hi 7ran5ac710n,

On the crest, thanks !

Some thoughts :

- if EchoStar intend to bid, they've now set a floor of GBP 5.568;
- they may just want a 'strategic stake' in a rival;
- they may want to flush out other bidders....and force them to pay 'over the odds', making a useful capital gain AND forcing a rival to 'overpay'.


Can't do the share price any harm, whichever way I look at it.....

ATB

[the original goldbug] 25/6/2018 15:33

It’s a game of bluff for sure.

I think Echostar can pay £7. There is a geographical valuation arbitrage which Egan can be sure of exploiting, so he will make his play as he is itching to do something. Eutelsat are probably the weaker party?

[kalkaar] 25/6/2018 15:23

the alternative view may be that Echostar now decide to pull the plug on any bid now Eutelsat have thrown their hat in the ring.. reasonable chance of that happening as they like making opportunistic bids/or acquiring assets on the cheap..

also, with all the debt knocking about in these companies and the market cap of ISAT already pushing £3bn not sure there is going to be a huge amount of upside from these levels..

would love to be proven wrong though in both cases