PARIS — Satellite fleet operator AsiaSat of Hong Kong said Sept. 24 that it had sold its SpeedCast satellite broadband subsidiary to a private-equity group for $32.2 million (251.5 million Hong Kong dollars), booking a gain of about 135.7 million Hong Kong dollars.
SpeedCast reported a net profit of about 25 million Hong Kong dollars in 2011, AsiaSat said in a submission to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
AsiaSat Chief Executive William Wade said in a statement that the sale is part of AsiaSat’s focus on its core business of selling satellite bandwidth. AsiaSat is a founding investor in SpeedCast, which was created in 1999 and offers managed network satellite services in 30 nations in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. AsiaSat said it will continue to be “a significant supplier” of satellite bandwidth to SpeedCast.
Private-equity group TA Associates of Boston will be paying AsiaSat $25.1 million immediately, with the remaining payments to be made in stages through promissory notes issued within a month of the transaction’s close.
Under the agreement, AsiaSat has agreed not to invest in a SpeedCast competitor for five years.
