Stratos Global Corp. announced Aug. 15 it signed a letter of intent to purchase Xantic B.V. According to Stratos, the transaction will create the world’s leading provider of advanced remote communications solutions, with a geographic presence and customer base in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific region.

Under the terms of the agreement, Stratos will acquire 100 percent of the shares of Xantic, currently owned by KPN N.V. (65 percent) and Telstra Corp. Ltd. (35 percent), for about $191 million. The purchase price is subject to adjustments based upon audited earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, for the 12 months immediately preceding closing and specified working capital levels. Stratos expects the deal to close by early 2006.

“For some time, we’ve anticipated consolidation in the Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) sector, and our strategy has been focused on ensuring that Stratos leads that consolidations,” Jim Parm, Stratos president and CEO, said in a prepared statement. “The addition of Xantic significantly expands our geographic and vertical market presence, and the extensive skills and experience of Xantic’s staff will be an asset as we continue to roll out new advanced data services, such as high-speed [Broadband Global Area Network] data service, to better service the critical remote communications needs of our customers.”

Stratos has arranged committed credit facilities to finance the acquisition and related transaction costs, and to refinance all of Stratos’ existing credit facilities.

For more on how this acquisition alters the MSS landscape, please see the Aug. 22 issue of Satellite News. For more information on subscribing to Access Intelligence’s satellite industry news and information products, please visit us on the Web at https://www.satellitetoday.com.