ViaSat Expands With Purchase of Lockheed Martin Unit.CARLSBAD -- ViaSat Inc. is pulling a Clarksburg, Md., company into its orbit. The Carlsbad-based company announced plans last week to acquire a 70-employee unit of giant defense contractor Noun 1. defense contractor - a contractor concerned with the development and manufacture of systems of defense armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. , which is selling its Global Telecommunications Communicating information, including data, text, pictures, voice and video over long distance. See communications. Products group for an undisclosed combination of cash and stock. One published report estimated the price at or near $20 million. A ViaSat spokeswoman declined to confirm the estimate. The Maryland Maryland (mâr`ələnd), one of the Middle Atlantic states of the United States. It is bounded by Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean (E), the District of Columbia (S), Virginia and West Virginia (S, W), and Pennsylvania (N). unit -- to be called the Comsat Laboratories division of ViaSat -- specializes in broadband broadband Term describing the radiation from a source that produces a broad, continuous spectrum of frequencies (contrasted with a laser, which produces a single frequency or very narrow range of frequencies). satellite network terminals. Its roots are in the Comsat Corp., which Lockheed Martin acquired in 2000. Lockheed Martin's Systems & Technology business is keeping other portions of the Comsat business for itself. Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. John V. Sponyoe said in a prepared statement that the sale "meets the strategic objectives" of both ViaSat and his company. That is because the Lockheed Martin unit has "de-emphasized the development and manufacture of hardware and products, while ViaSat has experienced significant growth and success in this area," he said. The sale should close within the third quarter of 2001, ViaSat announced. ViaSat management last week did not expect the transaction to have a material impact on its earnings per share for fiscal 2002, said Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO of ViaSat, in a prepared statement. ViaSat produces advanced digital satellite telecom and wireless signal processing See DSP. equipment, for both commercial and government markets. The company acquired the satellite networks business of Scientific Atlanta in April 2000, and maintains offices in Norcross, Ga. ViaSat reported $10 million in net income on $164 million of revenues during its latest fiscal year, which ended March 31. Not counting the Maryland employees, ViaSat has a staff of about 790. ViaSat expects to keep the 70 employees in Maryland, a ViaSat spokeswoman said, though she cautioned conditions may change. |
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