This deal will help Maxar alleviate some of its debt, which is estimated around $3.1 billion as of past September.
Maxar Technologies Inc., a U.S. space technology company, has made headlines recently when it announced plans to sell its subsidiary MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) for around USD 765.23 million to a consortium led by private investment firm Northern Private Capital (NPC).
Sources cite that NPC will acquire MDA’s Canadian operations including its radar satellites, ground stations, and robotics components, representing approx. 1,900 employees.
Following the deals completion, MDA will operate as a stand-alone firm within NPC’s portfolio. However, the company will continue to supply Colorado-based Maxar with subsystems and certain components. The two parties also plans on selling each other’s complementary satellite data.
Currently, MDA is working on several projects for various clients, including developing navigation antennas for use on other firm’s satellite, wildfire-monitoring satellites, and to advance Canadarm3, the succeeding version of its robotic add-on for use on the NASA Lunar Gateway. Apparently, the space program is a staging and research station orbiting the Moon as part of the United States space agency’s Artemis mission series.
Commenting on the recent move, Maxar CEO Dan Jablonsky and CFO Biggs Porter, said that the sale of the MDA would help decrease their firm’s debt and leverage its ratio. The company is also planning to use these proceeds to improve its capital structure to grow its Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure areas.
However, the company needs to clear several regulatory approvals before it becomes final, including a Hart-Scott-Rodino review by the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission, a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, and similar government reviews in Canada.
Reliable reports further cite that Maxar Technologies’ stock price, following the recent announcement, leaped over 21% to $17.39.
Source Credit – https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/30/maxar-is-selling-space-robotics-company-mda-for-around-765-million/
