Calian Group Expands European Satellite Business With Acquisition of Germany-based SatService

by | Apr 1, 2019

OTTAWA, April 01, 2019 – Effective April 1, 2019 Calian Group Ltd. (TSX:CGY) has acquired SatService, Gesellschaft für Kommunikationssysteme mbH. (SatService), a solid player in the European satellite ground systems market.

Based in Steisslingen, Germany, SatService offers innovative engineering solutions and products for the satellite communications market. Its business will support Calian SED's expansion in the European market with turnkey satellite solutions as well as products. SatService product offerings include the sat-nms line of first-class software and hardware solutions for antenna control and tracking, monitoring and control systems and L-band transmission.

SatService has a very strong technical team and a reputation for excellent service and support, said Patrick Thera, President, Calian SED. Our skillsets and product offerings are very complementary which includes our combined abilities to provide turnkey satellite radio-frequency (RF) ground systems. SatService offers innovative products that serve as key building blocks for communication network solutions including antenna control and L-band signal management. Our combined locations in Germany and Canada broaden our base of operations to support customers throughout Europe, North America and beyond. We look forward to working with their team to support each other in our growth agendas as we look to expand our footprint in the satellite ground systems market.  

We are pleased to become part of the Calian SED team and increase our coverage of the satellite ground station market, stated Michael Ulbricht, former owner of SatService. I am also very pleased to continue as managing director for the next few years to support and grow the business that I have dedicated more than 20 years to. As always, my team and I will support our customers with innovative engineering and rock-solid implementation. 

“The purchase price is 6,450,000 euros on closing and two additional payments in December 2019 and December 2020, based on the achievement of a certain level of EBITDA in each of those periods. With an excellent margin profile and annual revenues of approximately CAD $10 million, we expect this acquisition to be EBITDA accretive from day one,” stated Patrick Houston, Chief Financial Officer, Calian. Further details regarding the acquisition will be provided with Calian's results for the second quarter ending March 31, 2019. SatService' results will be consolidated and reported as part of Calian's Systems Engineering Division (SED).

I am thrilled to report our first major international acquisition. Although Calian SED has delivered systems on every continent but Antarctica, this gives us our first significant physical presence in Europe, broadening our global footprint, stated Kevin Ford, Chief Executive Officer, Calian. This acquisition supports the customer diversification and service line evolution pillars of our growth strategy by bringing new innovations and products in our satellite communications business while increasing our capacity for growth in our targeted customer segments.

About Calian SED
SED is a global supplier of communication systems solutions and products. One of SED's key markets is satellite RF ground systems solutions for customers that have complex technical requirements. Our customers are leaders in their industries and SED provides systems tailored to meet their demanding requirements, with practical solutions, delivered on time and on budget. SED's solutions include satellite gateways and infrastructure for RF communications, telemetry, tracking and control systems, space science and earth observation. SED also provides leading-edge communication products for terrestrial and satellite networks. In addition, SED enables our commercial and defence customers to deliver reliable, high-quality products and systems by providing them with superior electronics engineering, manufacturing and test services.

About SatService

SatService, based in Steisslingen, Germany, offers a broad range of services and turnkey solutions in the field of satellite-based communication technologies. The company is an ideal source for customized satellite ground stations, satellite news gathering, monitoring and control software. SatService is in a position to provide customer competitive and customer dedicated solutions with the quick reaction time of a small but responsive company. SatService develops the sat-nms product family. For more information visit www.satservicegmbh.de.

About Calian

Calian employs over 3,200 people with offices and projects that span Canada, U.S. and international markets. The company’s capabilities are diverse with services delivered through two divisions. The Business and Technology Services (BTS) Division is headquartered in Ottawa and includes the provision of business and technology services and solutions to industry, public and government in the health, training, engineering and IT services domains. Calian's Systems Engineering Division (SED), located in Saskatoon, provides the world's leading space technology companies with innovative solutions for testing, operating and managing their satellite networks. SED provides leading-edge communications products for terrestrial and satellite networks and provides commercial (including agriculture) and defence customers with superior electronics engineering, manufacturing and test services for both private sector and military customers in North America.

For investor information, please visit our website at www.calian.com or contact us at [email protected]

DISCLAIMER

Certain information included in this press release is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in these statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Such statements are generally accompanied by words such as intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect or similar statements. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: the impact of price competition; scarce number of qualified professionals; the impact of rapid technological and market change; loss of business or credit risk with major customers; technical risks on fixed price projects; general industry and market conditions and growth rates; international growth and global economic conditions, and including currency exchange rate fluctuations; and the impact of consolidations in the business services industry. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, please see the Company's most recent annual report and other reports filed by Calian with the Ontario Securities Commission. Calian disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No assurance can be given that actual results, performance or achievement expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking statements within this disclosure will occur, or if they do, that any benefits may be derived from them.

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