Inmarsat Share Discussion Threads

[kalkaar] 06/7/2018 10:07

7ran5ac710n - they added yesterday - they obviously weren't in the know :)

gambo - i wouldn't take it personal mate - it's what has always happened in the city and will continue to.. the big funds are consulted and then word spreads fast.. speculation i think they call it lol

besides, in this case giving Echostar the benefit of the doubt, it wouldn't have been too difficult to work out they were looking to bid once they started picking up the CB's - not much anonymity in that market.

and fwiw, i'd take 650-700p now than 700-800p in a protracted battle or over 1/2 years.. plenty of other investable opportunities elsewhere that would return more than the potential upside.

[kalkaar] 06/7/2018 10:00

i would agree with steeple, going hostile unlikely:

"EchoStar continues, however, to seek engagement with the board of Inmarsat on a constructive basis, with a view to agreeing the terms of a recommended transaction."

plenty of "nicely-nicely / friendly-speak" keywords above show they wish to steer clear of the regulatory minefield a contentious bid could bring.

[gambo555] 06/7/2018 09:57

is that right? I thought that unless they made offer by Today 5pm they are locked out for 6 months....the board i feel wont accept less than 750p (or recommend) anything less....they wouldn't keep saying "VERY significantly undervalues" otherwise....i doubt they'd recommend to the shareholders much less - plus they have the prospect of losing jobs....so id expect they want to get a pretty penny for their stock options. At the end of the day....echostar have helped short this stock to its lowest levels...then try to make out they are doing us (as shareholders)a favor. Personally id not want less than 750p minimum - id rather wait 2 years or so and see what happens - whether they can turn this around (which i think they will)....i dont want the guy buying our company after he has relentlessly been shorting the stock for his own financial gain...as too those in the know that a bid was in the offing...so short it also to get the price down (LIKE NUMIS!??) with the expectation they are going to make a killing when a bidder comes in! Scandalous really!??

[7ran5ac710n] 06/7/2018 09:56

Boot filling time: Norges Bank buy 1.4mio at c.529p

[steeplejack] 06/7/2018 09:54

A hostile bid could be more contentious given security issues,government contracts.

[zcaprd7] 06/7/2018 09:44

EchoStar has bought equity and debt, so they can go hostile, until the (weak inmarsat) board agrees a price?

[kalkaar] 06/7/2018 08:25

dm, how can their strategy be deemed "impressive" if ultimately they don't get ISAT?

low-balling and not over-paying is all well and good and makes their management look prudent, savvy, and astute. However, if the ultimate objective is to acquire their target, (for all the reasons they have stated in their rns this morning), then they are going to look pretty silly come 5pm tonight if they have to walkaway.

having increased the total value of their bid, ISAT's board have rebuffed in the clearest possible manner by repeating the statement made, (word for word), following the initial approach.. that's as close as you're going to get in the corporate world to a "2 finger salute"

[kalkaar] 06/7/2018 08:11

pretty much the natural conclusion i arrived at too steeple unless i'm missing something?!

strange game to play by Echostar if their objective was to get ISAT..

that would open the door for a white knight (assuming there is one) to get a deal done within the next 6 months with Echostar an onlooker

[volsung] 06/7/2018 08:11

I’ve doubled my holding here. See this going hostile. Games being played

[dm676] 06/7/2018 08:10

Echostar's proposals assume that they are the only interested party, and if this is the case their strategy is impressive. However if there is another bidder sitting on the sidelines then they may well have left it too late to get their formal bid together. I suspect there is more to come from this story...

[the original goldbug] 06/7/2018 08:08

It’s strange though as Echostar has loads of cash on its balance sheet.

What’s someone like Ergen going to do with all that cash?

[argylerich] 06/7/2018 07:47

Echostar are going to make sure that we are grateful for every last penny by the time this goes through.

[kamitora] 06/7/2018 07:42

ISAT statement

[steeplejack] 06/7/2018 07:15

Over the last twenty years the number of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange has halved.I don't quite understand why Inmarsat was ever listed.Oh the government realised a few bob,some undeserving,fortunate employees pocketed a fortune and the company consistently overpaid on the dividend front but what benefits has the company,Inmarsat,actually derived from being listed?

[jhan66] 06/7/2018 07:11

Speculators leaving. Might be a good time to buy, I don’t see it going lower

[kalkaar] 06/7/2018 07:02

would have also expected a counter statement from the ISAT board prior to market open

[steeplejack] 06/7/2018 07:00

I suspect that the fact that no other bidders have come out of the woodwork yet might of tempered Echostar's enthusiasm.They're not awash with the readies and don't want to be seen to overpaying ie they don't want to do a Takeda/Shire with the Japanese company pretty relaxed about a slide in its share price as a result of an ambitious bid.As for the share price moves ahead of today's RNS,it's a disgrace.I thought it might just be speculative positions being unwound as time dragged on.But it wasn't,it was news leaking out from a source that would be a major beneficiary of this offer falling as flat as a pancake.

[steeplejack] 06/7/2018 06:35

Yes,I think they're angling to stay in the hunt with an extension but then there's mention of Inmarsat's "recommendation"which simply won't be forthcoming at this price.I guess Echostar will be able to potentially discern the regulatory environment with this offer.I fear that Inmarsat could well remain independent for now.It's possible that this might kick off a bidding war but it seems unlikely.The bid is very opportunistic.Inmarsat only have themselves to blame given that they muddied the waters with a necessary radical alteration of dividend policy which showed a previously held naivety about future cash flow requirements.

[kamitora] 06/7/2018 06:27

"let's see if anyone else throws their hat in the ring."

Indeed, although I don't see SoftBank immediately rushing down the street to Mizuho this morning based on that RNS.

[the original goldbug] 06/7/2018 06:26

Well we shouldn’t be surprised. As I said earlier they are leaky as hell.

[kamitora] 06/7/2018 06:25

"The market seems to have predicted the low ball offer with uncanny accuracy."

Yes, with uncanny accuracy. One might also speculate that the apparent short-fuelled overselling of ISAT prior to a bid that makes much of the premium to this oversell is also uncannily fortunate.

[the original goldbug] 06/7/2018 06:21

So a low ball offer which allows them to stay in the game.

Is that right?

The problem is that Echostar might not have the balance sheet to pay above £6.