The Dubai Air Show provided plenty of positive news in the in-flight entertainment and connectivity world this week, but also some bad news. A second player is now out of the commercial aviation connectivity business.
merger
Viasat, Inmarsat to merge, creating connectivity behemoth
Consolidation finally arrived to the in-flight connectivity world, and it arrived in a massive way. Viasat agreed to buy Inmarsat in a deal valued at $7.3 billion. Subject to typical regulatory and closing conditions, the companies hope to close the transaction in the second half of 2022.
IFPL and Cobalt Aerospace announce merger
Passenger interface specialist IFPL Group is expanding its portfolio of offerings with the acquisition of Cobalt Aerospace. Together, the two companies will offer customers a broader range of products and services that will allow operators to enhance their in-flight passenger experience offering.
LATAM scraps A350 fleet
LATAM never could really figure out what to do with its fleet of A350s. And now the fleet is no more. The company plans to remove the A350 from its Brazilian operations effective immediately.
Regulators squash Transat/Air Canada merger plans
Questions about the impact to competition hampered the proposed Air Canada/Transat merger from its announcement. Ultimately they killed the deal.
Air Canada, Transat merger approved, with notable conditions attached
Air Canada and Air Transat received approval from the Canadian government this week to close on their merger, though not without some additional conditions covering slots, loyalty, lounges, and Quebec employment guarantees.
Intelsat closes on Gogo Commercial Aviation buyout
Gogo is officially out of the commercial aviation in-flight connectivity business. The company closed its $400 million cash transaction with Intelsat early Tuesday morning, making good on a promise from two weeks ago to complete the deal in early December.
Gogo to Intelsat: Speedy Delivery!
When Intelsat announced plans to buy the Gogo Commercial Aviation (CA) business the plan called for an early 2021 closing. The pair now expect the deal to close in December 2020.
Intelsat to buy Gogo Commercial Aviation for $400 million
Intelsat will purchase the Commercial Aviation business from Gogo for a “headline” price of $400 million. Intelsat’s attorney’s announced the deal as part of a hearing at the US Bankruptcy Court this afternoon.
Intelsat emerges as leading contender for Gogo’s Commercial Aviation business
We could learn the fate of Gogo’s Commercial Aviation (CA) business by the end of the month, assuming some details in a recent Intelsat bankruptcy filing play out. The latter filed for approval to increase its Debtor-in-Possession (DIP) funding as part of a transaction it hopes to consummate by 31 August.