Viasat Completes
Acquisition of Remaining Stake in its European
Broadband Joint Venture, Inclusive of the KA-SAT
Satellite and Ground Assets
April 30, 2021
Viasat Inc. announced it
completed the purchase of Euro Broadband
Infrastructure Sàrl ("EBI"), the wholesale
broadband services business created as part of
Viasat's former partnering arrangement with
Eutelsat Communications.
By purchasing the remaining
51% share of EBI from Eutelsat, Viasat gained
100% ownership of the KA-SAT satellite and
related ground infrastructure, which provides
satellite coverage over Europe and the
Mediterranean region. With complete ownership of
these assets, Viasat can continue to diversify
its business portfolio in Europe, while
establishing operations, distribution and sales
for its growing retail, enterprise, mobility and
government businesses—ahead of its Europe,
Middle East and Africa (EMEA)-focused ViaSat-3
satellite.
"With the EBI purchase now
complete, we can more aggressively move forward
with growing our European broadband business and
introduce new service offerings—before the
launch of our ViaSat-3 EMEA satellite," said
Rick Baldridge, Viasat's president and chief
executive officer. "This deal provides a
foundation for growth and an investment in the
European region in addition to Africa and the
Middle East. We can now set in motion our
multi-tiered partner and distribution strategy,
while trialing new 'ViaSat-3 like' home internet
plans and new mobility offerings that best
consider the needs and requirements of the local
market dynamics as well as consumer and
enterprise appetites for broadband."