Latham Secures Global Antitrust and Competition Approvals for Viasat’s US$7.3 Billion Acquisition of Inmarsat

Latham & Watkins’ global antitrust and competition team represented Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, on its now-completed US$7.3 billion acquisition of Inmarsat, a leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services.

Latham represented Viasat in obtaining global antitrust and foreign investment approvals in more than a dozen jurisdictions around the world, including through an in-depth Second Request investigation in the United States, a Phase II investigation by the European Commission, and a Phase II process in the United Kingdom. Latham also represented Viasat in obtaining approval from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which consented to the transaction based on a detailed competitive analysis.

Latham’s global antitrust team was led by partners Jason Cruise and Lindsey Champlin in Washington, D.C., Jonathan Parker in London, Carles Esteva Mosso in Brussels, and José Maria Jimenez-Laiglesia in Madrid; with support from counsels Rita Motta in Brussels and Ludmilla Le Grand in London; and associates Daniel Baker and Anna Escrigas Cañameras in Brussels, Maria Martinez in Madrid, Oscar Hayward and James Mathieson in London, Rebecca Frumento in New York, Nathaniel Amann in San Diego, and Mary Casale, Alexandra Clark, Brian Goodell, Sean Mulloy, Matthew Piehl, and Ivy Ziedrich in Washington, D.C.  In addition, partners Matthew Murchison and Elizabeth Park in Washington, D.C., supported by associates Michael Herman and J.G. Jones in Washington, D.C., spearheaded the FCC approval process.