Baker McKenzie with Viasat on the acquisition of EBI
Baker McKenzie acted as lead counsel to Viasat, the communications company, on the acquisition of Euro Broadband Infrastructure Sàri (EBI), the wholesale broadband services business created as part of Viasat’s former partnering arrangement with Eutelsat Communications.
The team
The Baker McKenzie team was led by Alexander Fischer, Matthias Trautmann and Patricia Reichmuth, and included team members from various jurisdictions. From Zurich, were involved: Urs Zenhaeusern, Boris Wenger, Alexander Blaeser, Markus Wolf, Roger Thomi, Susanne Liebel-Kotz, Valentina Hirsiger, Corinne Nacht, Laurence Witschi, Beau Visser and Cathrin Marxer.
The operation
Eutelsat initially owned 51% of EBI, and Viasat the remaining 49% interest. With the purchase of the 51% controlling interest in EBI for €140M, Viasat now 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 will continue to diversify its business portfolio in Europe, while establishing operations, distribution and sales for its growing retail, enterprise, and mobility and government businesses—ahead of its Europe, Middle East and Africa-focused ViaSat-3 satellite.
