Balaton Group To
Acquire MotoSAT, Leading Provider Of Satellite Antenna Solutions
(8 July 2008) MotoSAT, a leading
provider of mobile and automated satellite antenna solutions, has agreed to be
acquired by Balaton Group Inc., an international private equity firm based in
Toronto, Canada, with significant experience in the satellite
industry.
The acquisition is set to close in the fall of 2008.
Financial terms have not been disclosed.
"We are enthusiastic about the
MotoSAT business and feel that the company's technical leadership and
showcase-manufacturing capabilities in the United States position the company
well for expansion into global markets," said Robert Kubbernus, CEO of Balaton.
"We also see great potential in the company's new, ruggedized commercial
product line that should generate continued expansion into the Satellite News
Gathering, Government, Military, Emergency Management, Commercial and Media
sectors."
"MotoSAT has recently developed market-ready technology that
uses inclined-orbit satellites, a solution that has the potential to radically
lower the cost of ownership of satellite communications circuits," Kubbernus
added. "With an appropriate investment of capital and resources, we see a
significant growth opportunity in MotoSAT."
MotoSAT, based in Salt Lake
City, was founded in 1984 as a manufacturer of automated satellite television
antennas for the recreational vehicle market. In the years since, the company
has become a leader in automated systems that locate satellite signals from
vehicles and mobile units for television and broadband Internet access. Its
customer base has expanded into government and military vehicles, the
oil-and-gas market, and a variety of local government emergency command centres
and medical applications.
MotoSAT's products, offered through a network of
250 dealers in North America and Europe, are manufactured in Salt Lake City at
a 45,000 square-foot production facility. The company has about 110 employees,
all based in Utah.
"This is the right time to put MotoSAT into the hands
of a company like Balaton Group that has the resources and expertise to grow
MotoSAT to an entirely new level of production and profitability," said Jim
Pendleton, MotoSAT President and a majority shareholder. "After 24 years of
successful business and product innovation, the MotoSAT story turns a page to a
new chapter. With our strong current install base, dealer network and new
product launches set for this fall, I can proudly turn the reins over to
Balaton and consider my retirement options. I also look forward to spending the
upcoming months working with Balaton to ensure a smooth
transition."
About MotoSAT
MotoSAT is a leading provider of
innovative mobile satellite antenna solutions. Founded in 1984, MotoSAT
commercialised the first truly automated satellite television systems for the
recreational vehicle industry. In 2001, MotoSAT became the first mobile
satellite communications company to introduce a mobile consumer high-speed
Internet dish solution. More recently, the company delivered the first
satellite antenna that can simultaneously track up to five different satellites
for DirecTV and was the first to manufacturer a skewable automated HDTV system
for DirecTV, Dish Network, and Star Choice and Bell Express View of Canada.
Today, MotoSAT is launching unprecedented innovation by combining powerful,
self-pointing, auto-acquire satellite antenna technology with unsurpassed ease
of use.
MotoSAT, a vertically integrated company, manufactures and
assembles all of its products in the United States. With an install base of
over 25,000 and a strong network of 250 dealers, MotoSAT's automated satellite
antenna solutions are offered in the consumer, military, fire & rescue,
emergency management, oil & gas, medical, media (SNG) and field production
markets.
About Balaton Group Inc.
Balaton Group Inc. is a private
equity firm that concentrates its efforts in the small-cap and micro-cap
markets. While open to opportunities wherever they can be found, Balaton
focuses on sectors in which it has demonstrated expertise such as
telecommunications, real estate, technology and financial
services.
Balaton's team of professionals, including its senior
advisors, provides the unsurpassed expertise needed to create exceptional
returns for its investors.
As a corporate architect, Balaton specialises
in providing its portfolio companies with the financial and operational support
to enable them to expand profitably. The companies Balaton acquires all share a
common feature: they have extraordinary growth prospects in their industry or
markets.
(source: Balaton Group)
