Aerospace company Maxar has agreed to go private in a $6.4 billion deal

Satellite Imagery and Infrastructure Company Maxar On Friday, it announced an agreement to go private through an acquisition led by Advent International.

The all-cash deal gives Maxar an enterprise value of approximately $6.4 billion. Private equity firm Advent acquires $3.1 billion in Maxar, with British Columbia Investment Management Corporation also contributing $1 billion.

“We’re really excited about it,” Maxar CEO Dan Jablonski told CNBC. That, he said, “will allow us to invest faster in the business, accelerating things like VII and VIII Corps [satellites], and other technologies we have developed. “

Maxar shares closed at $23.10 Thursday, so the agreement with Advent at $53 a share represents a price nearly 130% higher than where the stock has traded recently.

Jablonsky has led a multi-year turnaround effort at Maxar since being named CEO in January 2019, with the stock trading near $5 a share. The deal price with Advent is close to the highs Maxar shares achieved in early 2021, before plummeting along with other aerospace stocks this year.

“We took a very hard, thoughtful look at all the factors,” said Jablonski. “This turned out to be the right deal at the right time.”

A key aspect of Maxar’s agreement with Advent is the 60-day “shopping period,” which ends on February 3. 14, the company should consider alternative offers.

Because of that, Jablonski noted, “it’s still early days” for what Makassar’s future will look like under Advent. He declined to comment on whether the new owners might be looking to carve out Maxar’s business, in satellite imagery and manufacturing — or whether he would stay.

“I love what we’ve built and what we’re doing here, and we probably can’t say much about what’s beyond that right now,” said Jablonski.