MDA Ltd., a provider of advanced technology and services to the rapidly expanding global space industry, has completed the previously announced acquisition of SatixFy Space Systems UK Ltd. (SSS), the digital payload division of SatixFy Communications Ltd.
Commenting on the acquisition, Mike Greenley, CEO of MDA, said: “We are thrilled to officially welcome the SSS team into MDA. This acquisition bolsters MDA’s digital satellite capabilities and advances our satellite systems strategy as we continue to invest and expand in next-generation satellite technology and talent to meet growing customer demand.”
Nir Barkan, Acting CEO of SatixFy, added: “This landmark agreement for SatixFy with MDA, a leading provider of advanced satellite technology, is a major achievement for SatixFy. We recently took the strategic decision to focus our satellite business on our core competencies of the development of groundbreaking chipsets supporting multi-beam digital antennas and onboard processing for the space industry and advanced ground terminals.
“Today’s announcement is an integral part of that strategy and brings SatixFy’s cutting-edge space chipsets into MDA’s digital payloads, representing a strong step forward in the commercialization of our technology. It demonstrates our market leadership in providing space-grade chip technologies for next-generation satellites and positions SatixFy as a leading innovator in the satellite communications industry and strengthens our competitive positioning. Furthermore, we expect that this transaction will increase our chipset sales into satellite digital payloads and will lead to increased collaboration between MDA and SatixFy in new areas. MDA has been a steadfast SatixFy customer, and we are thrilled to fortify this relationship further. In addition, we will continue to expand our ground terminals and chipset offering to the satellite communication markets.”
The newly acquired division, based in the United Kingdom, will be integrated into MDA UK, the company’s existing UK subsidiary. The acquisition accelerates MDA’s market expansion in the UK and adds strategic in-country capability to produce satellite payloads. In addition, the SSS team will collaborate closely with MDA’s Satellite Systems business in Montreal to advance its new digital satellite product offering, adding complementary digital payload expertise and capacity.
The acquisition, which marks a significant investment of MDA in the UK market, will support the UK’s objective to maintain its leadership in the growing global satellite market.
The transaction is a combination of a $40m share purchase agreement, selling SatixFy’s holdings in its SatixFy Space Systems UK to MDA as well as an additional $20m in advanced payments under new commercial agreements which includes the previous $10m advanced payment made in June to be applied to future orders of space grade chips. SatixFy Space Systems is SatixFy’s satellite payload subsidiary expert in the development of digital satellite payload systems and subsystems, including digital beam-forming antennas and onboard processing. SatixFy will continue to retain all its related ASIC intellectual property and new chips’ development to support the growing market and customers building satellite digital payloads.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory, lender and other third-party and shareholder approvals and is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2023.
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