Sources inform ''Globes'' that the board of satellite terminal company Gilat Satellite Networks is due to meet this evening to approve the sale of the company to a consortium headed by Mivtach Shamir Holdings Ltd. and the Los Angeles-based private equity group Gores Group LLC. Gilat has been given a price tag of $480 million for the sale, a premium of 16% over its current market cap of $412 million. Gilat has been seen as a potential acquisition target since early last year.
Gilat currently has $198 million in cash and a property portfolio valued at $100 million, so after taking into account these assets, it is actually being sold for just $182 million.
The inclusion of a US player in the consortium will give Gilat an advantage because of the potential help Gores Group can offer in gaining a foothold in the US defense market as well as lobbying the US Department of Defense. Merrill Lynch advised Mivtach Shamir on the deal.
Gilat manufactures very small aperture terminals and peripherals for satellite communications.
