In 2021, Anuvu’s predecessor Global Eagle emerged from Chapter 11 restructuring after selling substantially all its assets to a group comprising the firm’s first-lien investors, including but not limited to certain funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc., Eaton Vance Management, Mudrick Capital Management, and Crestline Investors, Inc. Two months later, Global Eagle rebranded as Anuvu.
Now privately-held Anuvu confirms it intends to sell 100% of the company to Beverly Hills, California-based Platinum Equity, which manages roughly $50 billion of diversified assets.
Financial terms have not been disclosed, but the transaction will include Anuvu’s inflight connectivity (IFC) and Media units, and allows the company to pay off debt, deploy free cash flow in new investments, and continue to scale its network infrastructure, CEO Josh Marks tells Runway Girl Network.
Anuvu provides both IFC and inflight entertainment (IFE) content service provisioning to airlines, and counts a raft of operators as customers, including notably Southwest Airlines for IFC. It has asked the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to transfer non-common carrier earth station licenses to a newly registered company owned by Platinum Equity.
Anuvu’s arrangement with Platinum Equity is structured for tax efficiency and corporate simplification. Pre-closing, Anuvu expects to realign its current operations into two subsidiary entities, each managing one of its two primary lines of business IFC and Media technology.
“By adjusting our IFC and Media corporate structure as part of an ownership change, we simplify back-office and customer complexity while also driving tax efficiency,” explains Marks.
“We plan to transfer our FCC licenses to the IFC subsidiary. The contemplated corporate changes will occur after receiving regulatory approvals and before closing, and will not impact our current operations or customers.”
He confirms that:
Anuvu will continue to operate both IFC and Media.
Founded in 1995, Platinum Equity describes itself as “a global investment firm with ~$50 billion of assets under management, teams and investors around the world, and a diverse, global portfolio of operating companies in a wide range of industries. Our current portfolio of approximately 60 companies operates in a diverse range of industries, generates $100+ billion of aggregate revenue and employs approximately 200,000 people across the globe.”
Platinum Equity’s prior investments in telecommunications carriers include Covad, Securus, DSLnet and Matrix Telecom.
“Platinum Equity Advisors are experienced investors in aerospace, telecommunications and media-related services. Platinum’s platform investment in Anuvu allows us to pay off debt, deploy free cash flow in new investments, and continue to scale our network infrastructure, distinctive content and digital capabilities,” says Marks.
“This transaction is the next milestone in our successful transformation post-COVID, reflecting our significant free cash flow generation, customer growth, and successful deployment of new technologies, including our Anuvu Constellation MicroGEO satellites. NuView Alpha and Bravo entered commercial service this month and are actively deployed on our North American network with excellent performance.”
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Featured image credited to istock.com/Patamaporn Umnahanant