Globecomm

Globecomm Systems Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the GlobalSat division of Lyman Bros. Inc., Globecomm announced April 24.

The purchase price is $18.4 million and anticipated to be partially funded through a $16 million acquisition term loan provided by Citibank. The all-cash transaction is expected to close before the end of June.

Viasat

Viasat continues to see strong subscriber growth in Scandinavia and the Baltic States, as the direct-to-home provider added 14,000 customers to close the first quarter with 943,000 subscribers, parent company Modern Times Group announced. At the end of March 2006, Viasat had 837,000 subscribers.

Viasat now has more than 150,000 multi-room and personal video recorder subscribers, more than double the number reported at the same time a year ago.

BSkyB

BSkyB could be set for a "tough quarter," research analyst Sarah Simon of Morgan Stanley said.

Morgan Stanley is forecasting low subscriber growth of only 15,000, but "all eyes will be on the churn figure," Simon wrote in a research note. The high churn figure is due to the operator offering fewer discounted services, but a figure of around 14 percent would still be sign for worry, she said.

BSkyB will release its results May 2.

L-3 Communications, GCS

Global Communications Solutions Inc. (GCS) has agreed to be acquired by L-3 Communications, GCS announced April 23. Based in Victor, N.Y., GSC manufactures fly-away VSAT satellite terminals and is a reseller of Inmarsat products and services, dealing primarily with the U.S. Department of Defense and the federal agencies plus cable news markets.

No financial details were disclosed, and the acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter.

BT, Comsat International

BT signed an agreement to acquire Comsat International, which provides network services throughout Latin America via a hybrid terrestrial and satellite network.

"This acquisition will be an exciting milestone in the execution of our strategy of well targeted acquisitions around the world and will strengthen BT’s position as one of the global leaders in the digital networked economy," Francois Barrault, president BT International, said in a statement. "… This acquisition significantly enhances BT’s position in the increasingly important Latin American market."

No details of the agreement were released.

Ericsson, Tandberg TV

Ericsson has received the go-ahead from competition authorities to acquire all outstanding shares in Tandberg Television, Ericsson announced April 23.

All conditions in the terms and conditions set in the Feb. 26 offer document have been met, allowing Ericsson to complete the offer. Settlement for the shares submitted in the voluntary public cash offer is expected on or about April 25; after settlement, Ericsson will proceed with a mandatory offer for the remaining shares in Tandberg as required under chapter four of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

Harmonic

Harmonic Inc., a provider of broadcast and on-demand video delivery solutions, reported net sales of $70.2 million in the 2007 first quarter, up 25 percent from $56.2 million in the first quarter of 2006, the company announced April 26.

International sales represented 40 percent of net sales, compared to 54 percent in the same period of 2006.

Edge and access products, video processing products and software and services represented 51 percent, 37 percent and 12 percent, respectively, of 2007 first quarter revenue.

Eagle Broadband

Eagle Broadband Inc., a national provider of broadband, Internet protocol (IP) and digital communications technology and services, reported results for the fiscal quarter ended Feb. 28. Compared to the second quarter of last year, revenues increased by 13 percent and gross margins improved by almost $500,000.

Loss from operations for the quarter was $2.4 million, an improvement of more than $1 million from the same quarter last year.

Dave Micek, president and CEO of Eagle Broadband, credited cost-cutting efforts and healthier sales margins. "Operating expenses for the first six months of fiscal 2007 are down by more than $1.75 million compared to fiscal 2006, when you exclude the one-time, $900,000 credit to bad debt expense we recognized in the first quarter of last year."

Net loss for the second quarter was $4.3 million, slightly higher than the $4.1 million net loss for the same quarter last year.

Interest expense for the second quarter was $998,000, an increase of $720,000 over the same quarter of 2006. The company also recognized $864,000 in derivative expense in the quarter, compared to derivative income of $20,000 in the prior year’s quarter.

Derivative income and expense arises from changes in the fair value of Eagle’s derivative financial instruments and does not represent cash inflows or outflows.

Radyne

Radyne Corp. reported quarterly bookings of $35.4 million, the second-strongest bookings quarter in the company’s history, the company announced April 23.

Bookings for the first quarter of 2006 were $32.7 million, with backlog at quarter end standing at $31.1 million.

For the first quarter of 2007, Radyne reported $29.7 million in sales with net earnings of $1.9 million. That compared to $31.2 million in sales and $2.4 million in net earnings for the equivalent period of 2006.

The increase in bookings resulted from increased order rates for the company’s Xicom satellite amplifiers and Tiernan high-definition TV encoders and decoders. At the end of the quarter, Radyne’s cash balance increased to $29.4 million from $27.5 million at the end of 2006.

The company’s consolidated accounts receivable declined to $22.4 million compared to $27.8 million at the beginning of the year. Consolidated inventory was $24.9 million compared to $21.1 million at the end of 2006.