ALEX BRUMMER: Don’t let Inmarsat fall into American hands

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As the former non-executive president of British satellite pioneer Inmarsat, Andrew Sukawaty and his executive team would have to hang their heads in shame.

Just two years after selling to private capital barons Apax and Warburg Pincus, a British company with good research and development (R&D) results is being sold to an American competitor with a profit of close to £ 1 billion.

The former management of Inmarsat disappointed investors by failing to provide the best price, and more importantly, paved the way for an American competitor to access valuable satellite communications technology.

Technology Pioneer: Just two years after selling to private capital barons, the Inmarsat satellite company, with good research and development results, is being sold to an American competitor with a profit of close to £ 1 billion.

The fear of a strategic leak could be exaggerated given the close security cooperation between the UK and the US and now Australia. It is really worrying that Inmarsat and all its science has been so easily stored up to overseas customers.

There are traces of Cobham when private equity shark Advent carried out a quick fire sale of its refueling technology to an American rival.

As noted by Lady Cobham, an advocate of family heritage, Americans have been trying for years to buy British fuel technology, but Dorset has been holding them back.

Under the guise of Covid and the ownership of private capital, the space knowledge that helped win the Falklands War was instantly lost.

The Inmarsat and Cobham acquisitions prove that the promise of private equity focusing on providing new capital, better managing and maintaining the UK’s scientific, technological and production base is too vague.

Much of private capital is interested in quick turnarounds and does not want any truck with a longer-term investment.

The new proposed California owner of Inmarsat, Viasat, is a bunch of lunatics about more research and development and about being able to compete better with low-orbit satellite companies like Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The UK already has some skin in the game as it has invested taxpayer money in Oneweb, bought from US bankruptcy.

The real reward for Americans is Inmarsat’s breakthrough in-flight communication technology, which has tremendous commercial value and potential use for national security.

Since the writing of the letter, the government has been maneuvering to obtain binding commitments before referring to the revision of the National Security and Investment Act, which may be introduced retrospectively. It seeks assurances for research and development, production and jobs.

Cold experiences tell us that such provisions – look at Cobham! – they are far from binding. Given the overlapping technologies, this is a business that requires a full review by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng showed an admirable willingness to intervene in the proposed sale of Ultra Electronics and Meggitt, contrary to the hands-free approach of his predecessors.

It has another golden opportunity to establish the Quartent doctrine by balancing free-market capitalism with the national interest.

Wrinkles and spills

One of the advantages of a close public company is that executives do not have to cling to current trends.

The owner of Primark, Associated British Foods (ABF), is under a lot of pressure to go digital to better compete with the original Asos, Boohoo and the like.

As others fled or disappeared from the main streets, Primark grew larger in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. His formula of fast, unusual fashion thrives despite the world of Cop26, which is aware of climate change.

The pandemic was a nightmare for Primark, although ABF, which generates more than half of its revenue from food, was flooded with blows. After an unequal period of 2020-21 due to closure, it expects a £ 2bn jump in sales this year and plans to keep the margin at 10%. His sales model only really makes sense if he doesn’t have to deal with online logistics.

The intentions are clear. By 2026, it plans to expand from 398 to 530 stores and is rewarding investors with a special dividend. Old-style shopping is not yet dead and buried.

Stop

The decision of the American industrial conglomerate GE to split into three separate quoted suits is the end of the period.

Under legendary boss Jack Welch, GE was the most valuable company in the U.S. and in 2008, seven years after his retirement, he still had revenues of £ 132 billion.

It plans to share energy and healthcare and keep the aerospace as its core, thereby losing £ 56 billion in debt. That seems ambitious.

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