News Analysis

Saltaire, UK, Oct. 23, 2013 — Set-top boxes developer Pace plc is acquiring optical transport and access network solutions provider Aurora Networks for US$ 310 million in cash.

London, UK,  Oct. 18, 2013 — BSkyB showed strength across all its products during the first quarter of fiscal 2013 with plenty of highlights. During the first three months ended 30 September 2013, BSkyB snatched 800,000 new paid-for subscription products for a 50% year on year growth. Sky Broadband surpassed 5 million customers with 111,000 net new broadband customers added in the quarter, up 9% year on year, while triple play penetration rose to 36%, up 3 percentage points.

Brussels, Belgium, October 17, 2013 – With high-speed satellite broadband now available in all 28 EU countries, Europe today reached a major milestone in its drive to bridge the Digital Divide. The opportunity of broadband for all became a reality with the launch of satellite broadband services in the Baltics, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania being the last countries to be added to a network of service providers across Member States.

Ottawa, Canada,  October 16, 2013 – C-COM Satellite Systems Inc., a leading global provider of mobile auto-deploying satellite antenna systems, today announced financial results for its third quarter ending August 31, 2013.The company reported  a net profit of CDN $ 353,978 or 1.0 cent per share compared with results for the same period last year when there was a net profit of $65,625, or 0.2 cents per share. The working capital of the company increased by 27% to CDN $17,271,614 at August 31, 2013 compared to CDN $13,577,437 at August 31, 2012.

Betzdorf, Luxembourg, October 16, 2013 - SES S.A. operator of a global fleet of 54 communication satellites, has successfully placed a €500 million 5-year Euro bond. The bond, issued by SES Global Americas Holdings GP and guaranteed by SES S.A., was priced today with a coupon of 1.875% (Mid-Swap +73bp). SES is rated Baa2/BBB/BBB (all stable). Proceeds of issuance will be used to refinance existing debt.

Washington, DC, Oct. 16, 2013 — The biggest U.S. media companies have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule Aereo Inc., which provides broadcast signals to online viewers, as an illegal operation. Petitioners to the suit include — Walt Disney Co., 21st Century Fox Inc., Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)’s NBCUniversal, CBS Corp. (CBS), Univision Communications Inc., the Public Broadcasting Service and station WNET, and Tribune Co. owned New York station WPIX — filed the petition on Friday with the court after litigation in lower courts failed to stop Aereo.

Rochelle Park, NJ – Oct. 10, 2013 – ORBCOMM Inc., a provider of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) solutions, and Savi Technology, a provider of sensor-based analytics and radio-frequency identification (RFID) solutions, today announced a strategic relationship to provide advanced location-based monitoring solutions to government and commercial markets.

Houston, TX, Oct. 9, 2013 — RigNet, Inc. has entered into a new credit agreement with Bank of America, N.A. for its business expansion.The new agreement gave RigNet a US$ 60 million term loan and a US$ 125 million revolving credit facility, which includes a US$15 million sublimit for the issuance of standby letters of credit.

Iroquois, Ontario, Canada, October 8, 2013 — Canadian video production technology company, Ross Video, has acquired MCP – Mobile Content Providers, a premium full service mobile sports production packager based in South Florida, USA.

Johannesburg, South Africa, October 8, 2013 — Fox International Channels (FIC), a 21st Century Fox company, is buying Setanta Africa, the broadcaster whose television channel bouquet takes football, rugby, martial arts and other sports to a million homes in sub-Saharan Africa.