Arabsat on acquisition trail
September 9, 2021
By Chris Forrester
Arabsat, despite losing CEO Khaled Balkheyour last week, is still very much present at the Satellite 2021 show in Washington DC.
Hadi Alhassani, VP and chief strategy officer of Arabsat, talking on a conference session at the show, said that Arabsat was busy looking to expand its geographical footprint.
Alhassani told delegates that Arabsat was evaluating a couple of potential acquisitions of other satellite operators.
Arabsat has already demonstrated its willingness to beat off competition for an asset that fits into its overall strategy. In 2013, for example, it bought HellasSat for some $281 million and as part of a self-confessed wish to become one of the industry’s “top five” operators by revenue.
HellasSat was controlled by Greece’s OTE (Hellenic Telecoms).
Alhassani added that Arabsat’s view was that it was a good time to buy. “There are good deals out there in GEO,” he commented.