Inmarsat takeover clears final hurdle after hedge funds drop challenge

By Paul Sandle

LONDON (Reuters) – A private equity consortium’s $3.4 billion (£2.65 billion) takeover of British satellite company Inmarsat was approved at a court hearing on Tuesday after hedge fund investors dropped a plan to challenge the value of the deal.

Activists Oaktree, Kite Lake and Rubric Capital wanted the court to block the deal’s “scheme of arrangement” because they said the price did not reflect the value of Inmarsat’s longstanding agreement with U.S. broadband company Ligado.

Victory for the hedge funds would have sent shockwaves through the M&A sector because scheme of arrangements are usually rubber stamped by courts following shareholder approval.

Inmarsat’s buyer – a consortium of UK-based Apax Partners, U.S.-based…