Inmarsat announces plans for £1.1bn float

Inmarsat, the satellite group behind Thailand's new tsunami warning system, has unveiled plans for a £1.1bn float in London later this month.

Inmarsat, the satellite group behind Thailand's new tsunami warning system, has unveiled plans for a £1.1bn float in London later this month.

The company, which provides mobile communications for the US Department of Defence, the BBC, CNN, British Airways and the International Red Cross among others, is raising $690m (£380m) through the float. Shares will list at between 215p and 245p, giving a market value of £1.1bn at the midpoint.

Inmarsat's majority shareholders, Apax and Permira, are retaining a stake in the business after the float. The two private equity houses bought the group in 2003 in a deal worth around $1.5bn, taking a shareholding of 52 per cent. This will be diluted to around 30 per cent after the new shares are issued. Inmarsat's other shareholders, which include Lockheed Martin, the US defence company, Telenor, the Norwegian telephone company, and KDDI, the Japanese mobile phone group, are also not planning to sell shares in the float. Management currently owns around 6 per cent of the company.

The company, which also provides ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship communications for the maritime industry, intended to float in 2001, but its plans were scuppered when the 11 September terrorist attacks rocked investor confidence.

Dealing in shares will begin on 17 June and the company is hoping to attract new investors with a planned dividend yield of around 6 per cent.