The FCC should confirm that Inmarsat employees are barred from co...
The FCC should confirm that Inmarsat employees are barred from communicating with Stratos Global officials, Vizada said Thursday. The FCC Dec. 7 approved the first step in a deal involving Inmarsat, Stratos Global, Robert Franklin and Communications Investment Partners…
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of Canada. Inmarsat is financing CIP’s $275 million acquisition of Stratos. Inmarsat has an option to buy Stratos in April 2009, after their distribution agreement expires (CD Dec 11 p1). The transaction closed Tuesday. “The risk exists that Inmarsat and Stratos Global will engage in prohibited communications on the hyper-technical theory that the ordering clauses do not expressly forbid them,” said Vizada, which distributes Inmarsat’s and other satellite services. The FCC can issue “a very brief erratum or further order with a supplemental ordering clause,” Vizada said. The company, which opposed the transaction, still believes the FCC erred in approving it. “Inmarsat has stepped far over the line here based on its financial levers, contractual rights and ability to exert influence over fundamental Stratos Global business policies, notwithstanding the restrictions on communications imposed by the commission,” Vizada said. Vizada still is deciding whether to ask the FCC to reconsider the approval or to appeal the decision in federal court, it said.