Viasat Completes Acquisition of Remaining Stake in its European Broadband Joint Venture, Inclusive of the KA-SAT Satellite and Ground Assets

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Apr 30, 2021, 06:00 ET

CARLSBAD, Calif., April 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced it completed the purchase of Euro Broadband Infrastructure Sàrl ("EBI"), the wholesale broadband services business created as part of Viasat's former partnering arrangement with Eutelsat Communications.

By purchasing the remaining 51% share of EBI from Eutelsat, Viasat gained 100% ownership of the KA-SAT satellite and related ground infrastructure, which provides satellite coverage over Europe and the Mediterranean region. With complete ownership of these assets, Viasat can continue to diversify its business portfolio in Europe, while establishing operations, distribution and sales for its growing retail, enterprise, mobility and government businesses—ahead of its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)-focused ViaSat-3 satellite.

"With the EBI purchase now complete, we can more aggressively move forward with growing our European broadband business and introduce new service offerings—before the launch of our ViaSat-3 EMEA satellite," said Rick Baldridge, Viasat's president and chief executive officer. "This deal provides a foundation for growth and an investment in the European region in addition to Africa and the Middle East. We can now set in motion our multi-tiered partner and distribution strategy, while trialing new 'ViaSat-3 like' home internet plans and new mobility offerings that best consider the needs and requirements of the local market dynamics as well as consumer and enterprise appetites for broadband."

The transaction was initially announced on November 19, 2020. The original announcement with more details on the financial aspects of the transaction can be found here.

About Viasat
Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For more than 30 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea. To learn more about Viasat, visit: www.viasat.com, go to Viasat's Corporate Blog, or follow the Company on social media at: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include statements about the anticipated growth and expansion of Viasat's European broadband business; partner and distribution strategies; the anticipated value of KA-SAT, EBI and the value to customers and partners; the expected performance of the KA-SAT service; the expected launch timing and performance of the ViaSat-3 satellites; and plans, objectives and strategies for future operations. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: Viasat's ability to achieve expected synergies and other benefits resulting from the transaction; the impact of competition; the impact of changes in global economic conditions; risks associated with the operation of KA-SAT, including the effect of any anomaly, operational failure or degradation in satellite performance; contractual problems, product defects, manufacturing issues or delays, regulatory issues, technologies that do not perform according to expectations; and other factors affecting the communications market generally. In addition, please refer to the risk factors contained in Viasat's SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including Viasat's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. Viasat undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Copyright © 2021 Viasat, Inc. All rights reserved. Viasat, the Viasat logo and the Viasat signal are registered trademarks of Viasat, Inc. All other product or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Viasat, Inc.