The sale of Marlink to private equity firm Providence Equity Partners has been agreed, valuing the satellite service provider at approximately $1.4 billion.
Marlink’s current private equity owners, France-based Apax Partners, announced that it had entered exclusive discussions with Providence on a potential sale last month.
Providence, an investment firm specialising in the media, communications, education, software and services industries, will acquire a majority shareholding in Marlink under the deal. Apax will retain an undisclosed minority shareholding, described as “significant.” Marlink’s management team and investment house Ardian have also committed to minority interests.
“Marlink offers a comprehensive set of smart network solutions combining the entire spectrum of satcom and terrestrial connectivity, IT, cloud, cyber security and IoT managed services,” said Karim Tabet, Senior Managing Director at Providence.
“We are pleased to be partnering with such an outstanding business, and, together with Apax and Ardian, we look forward to supporting Erik Ceuppens and his team as Marlink continues to be a market leader and seeks to capitalise on increased demand for higher bandwidth connectivity and digital solutions.”
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022, subject to customary and regulatory approvals.
