Inmarsat Plc, Re

Facts

Inmarsat plc is a globally recognised provider of mobile satellite services, formed in 1979 as a treaty-based organisation and listed in England since 2005, with some 463,058,610 shares in issue. Part of its income derives from a 2007 "Cooperation Agreement" under which it granted the US satellite communications business Ligado options over North American radio frequencies in return for scheduled payments. Ligado's ability to pay depends on persuading the US Federal Communications Commission to permit repurposing of that spectrum for a terrestrial network, a modification opposed since at least 2010 by the GPS community, by the competitor Iridium Communications and by others, and payments have repeatedly been deferred through a Chapter 11 restructuring and successive amendments. That contingency, together with heavy investment in cabin connectivity, led to a dividend cut in 2017 and a depressed share price. On 25 March 2019 the Inmarsat and Connect Bidco Limited boards announced a recommended cash offer of US$7.21 per share, a 46 per cent premium to the undisturbed price, to be implemented by a scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006. An explanatory statement was circulated on 18 April 2019 and the scheme was approved at the court meeting on 10 May by 77.07 per cent in number and 78.95 per cent in value. Oaktree, Kite Lake and Rubric objected at the sanction hearing.