VANCOUVER - MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) announced it has completed its acquisition of DigitalGlobe, Inc., a provider of high resolution Earth imagery. The merger creates an integrated commercial provider of satellites, imagery and geospatial solutions to commercial and government customers worldwide. The newly combined company will offer a broader set of space-based solutions, increased scale and a more diversified revenue base.
NEW CORPORATE NAME
The company also announced today that MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) will become Maxar Technologies Ltd., and its U.S.-headquartered operating company, SSL MDA Holdings, Inc., will become Maxar Technologies Holdings Inc. The new Maxar Technologies launches a distinctive group of leading space brands, technologies and capabilities.
"Our new corporate name highlights the broader capabilities of the combined organization," aid Howard L. Lance, president and chief executive officer. "Maxar Technologies encompasses four of the leading commercial space technology brands-SSL, MDA, DigitalGlobe and Radiant-and represents the expanded benefits and value we will offer to our customers, shareholders, partners and employees." The company plans to continue to use the individual business unit brands and will roll out the new corporate branding design elements by the end of 2017.
MDA undertook a major corporate reorganization in May 2016 as part of its "U.S. Access Plan" strategy, including the appointment of Mr. Lance and the formation of SSL MDA Holdings, Inc., with its headquarters in San Francisco, which manages and controls all of the company's operations across Canada, the U.S. and internationally. This process was completed under the guidance and approval of the U.S. Department of Defense, whereby SSL MDA Holdings operates under a Security Control Agreement. This structure allows the Company to pursue and execute U.S. government programs that require security clearances.
The company will begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "MDA." However, the Company's ticker symbol on both the New York and Toronto Stock Exchanges will be changed next week to "MAXR" to reflect the company's new name as Maxar Technologies. In addition, as announced at the time of the proposed merger, the company has committed to further reorganize all or part of the combined company's corporate and operating structure to ensure the ultimate parent of DigitalGlobe is incorporated in the U.S. by the end of 2019, subject to customary approvals.
Maxar Technologies portfolio consists of
SSL: a commercial provider of communications and Earth observation satellites and scientific mission spacecraft for commercial and government markets;
MDA: a producer of space robotics, satellite antennas and subsystems, surveillance and intelligence systems, defense and maritime systems and geospatial radar imagery;
DigitalGlobe: a provider of high resolution optical satellite imagery and information about our changing planet; and Radiant: a specialized provider of geospatial data, analytics, software and services to facilitate insights and intelligence
COMBINED GEOSPATIAL AND ANALYTIC CAPABILITIES
MDA Information Systems, based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and DigitalGlobe Radiant, based in Herndon, Virginia, have been combined into a new business unit called Radiant Solutions. Radiant is focused on providing advanced geospatial data collection and analytics capabilities to offer enhanced support to the U.S. Department of Defense and Intelligence Community, along with international government and commercial customers. With over 1,000 cleared spacecraft and sensor engineers, developers, geospatial analysts, data scientists and image scientists, Radiant Solutions will be able to deliver solutions across the entire geospatial intelligence value chain with smart tasking, multi-intelligence collection, automated information extraction, pattern discovery and change detection.
LEADERSHIP
Mr. Lance will lead the combined company as president and chief executive officer. Mr. Lance's extensive experience in the global aerospace, defense and security markets will position the combined company to capture growing demand for end-to-end space systems solutions. The Company's senior leadership team will be comprised of executives from both MDA and DigitalGlobe.
William McCombe has been appointed chief financial officer of Maxar Technologies. Anil Wirasekara, who previously served as Chief Financial Officer of MDA since 1994, will continue with the Company and serve as the senior financial executive, based in Canada. Mr. Wirasekara will continue to report to Mr. Lance, with a significant portfolio of executive responsibilities.
Timothy M. Hascall has been appointed chief operations officer. Mr. Hascall previously served as executive vice president responsible for the Imagery business unit at DigitalGlobe, including operations and customer experience.
Daniel L. Jablonsky has been appointed president of DigitalGlobe. Mr. Jablonsky previously served as general manager of the U.S. and International Defense and Intelligence businesses at DigitalGlobe, as well as serving as its senior vice president and general counsel.
Dr. Walter S. Scott has been appointed chief technology officer for Maxar Technologies. Dr. Scott formed DigitalGlobe in 1992 as WorldView Imaging Corporation, the first company to receive a high-resolution commercial remote sensing license from the U.S. Government, and will continue to lead DigitalGlobe's Platform business while taking on expanded responsibilities for the Company.
Tony Frazier has been appointed president of Radiant Solutions. Mr. Frazier previously served as senior vice president of Services at DigitalGlobe. Don Schaefer, who previously served as president of MDA Information Systems, has been appointed chief strategy officer of Radiant Solutions.
In addition, three members of the DigitalGlobe Board of Directors, Howell M. Estes III, Roger Mason, Jr. and Nick S. Cyprus, have been appointed to the MDA Board of Directors.
You have 0 item(s) in your cart