European Commission opens investigation into acquisition of Inmarsat

The European Commission has issued a decision to open an investigation into the long-proposed £5.4 billion takeover of the UK-based maritime telecommunications group Inmarsat by US competitor Viasat. 

Inmarsat and Viasat are leading global providers of satellite communications in both the maritime and aviation sectors. The takeover proposition was announced in November 2021 with a view to form "a leading global communications innovator with enhanced scale and scope to affordably, securely and reliably connect the world," according to Viasat.