Big changes at NewSat

Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 19 August 2009 12:58

IT Industry - Strategy

Satellite service provider NewSat (ASX: NWT) has announced several "significant initiatives" including the resignation of founder and CEO, Adrian Ballintine, a shake-up of its board and the appointment of Lazard as strategic adviser on, amongst other things its plans to launch its own satellite.

Ballintine will retire from the CEO position before June 30th 2010. NewSat said: "The board has sufficient time to manage the succession planning and is confident of appointing the right person with international satellite experience to lead the company into the next decade...Adrian has agreed to remain available to the company and will remain a non executive director and strategic consultant following his retirement as CEO."

The company added that: "With the maturing of the company and the known challenges ahead, the board has determined to expand and refresh its membership." Chairman John Walker will stand aside at the next board meeting after eight years and make way for "prominent Melbourne businessman" Richard Green. Walker will continue as a director. The company is also looking for two or three additional directors who will add new skills and connections to the board. Long serving director, Chuck Ellison has indicated that he will not seek re election when his term expires in 2010.

Walker said: "NewSat is extremely fortunate to have someone of Richard's calibre join the board and succeed me as chairman. His depth of experience with growth companies, particularly with respect to financing will be a significant asset for NewSat. In addition, he brings a network of contacts that will be of great value as the company evolves."

Lazard will assist NewSat with "ongoing strategic advice, including in relation to the Jabiru satellite project, corporate strategy, capital structure, financing and merger and acquisition opportunities."

In December 2007 NewSat submitted a proposal to the Commonwealth Government's Regional Telecommunication Independent Review Committee for a new Australian satellite to be built at a cost of around $400 million: half from the Commonwealth Government and half from NewSat. Early in 2008 it reported that: "Whilst no commitments have yet been made, NewSat is now confident that the world's major space players, from satellite builders to rocket builders and launchers, to satellite operators and risk mitigation experts are all 'on board' and are very supportive of this NewSat project. The company is now in a position to start describing its satellite proposition in finer detail."

It said that Jabiru was expected to carry a mixed payload dominated by Ka band with some Ku and small amount of specialist requirement covered by X and L band transponders. It indicated that Jabiru would be a comparatively large satellite weighing around five tonnes and with a design life of 15 years. NewSat said it was in negotiation with a number of parties for allocation of a necessary geo-stationary slot.

It has not made public any significant additional information on the project since that time but in July 2008 lodged another, largely confidential submission with the government saying "NewSat repeats its dollar-for-dollar commitment, to a limit of $200million each, with the Australian Government and is confident of an expeditious commencement of the project with a launch date in 2011, subject to legals being transacted without undue delay." The original plan, however, was for a launch in late 2009.

In the submission NewSat suggested that the use of satellite technology to provide positioning for precision farming could be a key application, in addition to communications.

The company said this week that midway through the first quarter of the new financial year with sales ahead of budget and with a strong pipeline of new customer deals.