OmniAccess teleport in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Photo: OmniAccess.

Backed by Apax Partners, Marlink has signed a definite agreement to acquire a majority stake in OmniAccess. The existing management team of OmniAccess will remain unchanged and continue to keep a significant shareholding in the company.

According to Marlink, the new combined group generates close to $500 million in revenues, employs about 1,000 people and supports an install base of more than 4,000 Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) vessels.

Established in 2002 and headquartered in the “yachting capital of the Mediterranean,” the island of Mallorca, Spain, OmniAccess provides broadband connectivity services and solutions to the high-end superyacht and boutique cruise line customers. The company operates a global proprietary VSAT network with more than 24 satellite-beams in both C- and Ku-band, uplinked from six teleport locations in Spain, Germany, Hawaii, Australia and the Continental United States.

While leveraging the Marlink Group capabilities, OmniAccess will remain a stand-alone company, functioning as the competence center for broadband connectivity solutions for the high-end superyacht and boutique cruise-line customers.

The transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approval but is expected to close in the first half of 2018.