У ГеоГлаза губа не дура...
http://www.spacenews.com/earth_observation/120504-geoeye-makes-offer-digitalglobe.html
http://spaceref.biz/2012/05/geoeye-proposes-acquisition-of-digitalglobe.html
Им преподнесли губоскаточную машинку:
DigitalGlobe Rejects Acquisition Proposal by GeoEye (http://spaceref.biz/2012/05/digitalglobe-rejects-acquisition-proposal-by-geoeye.html)
:)
GeoEye To Merge with DigitalGlobeЦитироватьPARIS — The two principal providers of commercial Earth observation satellite imagery to the U.S. government have agreed to merge in a deal that makes DigitalGlobe the buyer and GeoEye – which had tried to buy DigitalGlobe two months ago – the target, the two companies announced July 23.
Under the terms of the agreement, Longmont, Colo.-based DigitalGlobe will offer shareholders of Herndon, Va.-based GeoEye Inc. the equivalent of $20.32 per share.
That represents a 34 percent increase over where GeoEye was trading on July 20, but a sharp drop from the company's trading levels before the U.S. government hinted that a $7.3-billion, 10-year contract that the two companies are sharing would be cut substantially.
It was in that environment — with the market unsure of whether the two would suffer equally, or whether one would be favored — that GeoEye made its offer to purchase DigitalGlobe, an offer that was quickly refused.
DigitalGlobe said then that while it agreed with GeoEye that a merged company would be stronger than two, it would await further signals from the U.S. government, and specifically the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), before entertaining merger discussions.
Since then, the NGA has said it is GeoEye whose contract will be renegotiated at reduced levels, and not DigitalGlobe's, at least not for the coming fiscal year.
The U.S. Congress is now reviewing the proposed fiscal-year 2013 budget sent to it by President Barack Obama. Some in Congress have said cuts to the 10-year contract, called EnhancedView, should await a through review of the future U.S. government need for commercial satellite imagery.
DigitalGlobe said it has secured a $1.2 billion funding facility from Morgan Stanley and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ to refinance the combined debt of GeoEye and DigitalGlobe.
GeoEye's largest shareholder, Cerberus Capital Management — which had proposed to help finance a GeoEye takeover of DigitalGlobe — has agreed to vote in favor of the proposed merger, the two companies' statement said.
http://www.spacenews.com/military/120723-geoeye-and-digitalglobe-merge.html
Согласовали план запусков...
One commercial Earth-imager deferred in favor of another
As anticipated, a commercial Earth-imaging satellite making its way through final testing for a planned springtime launch atop an Atlas 5 rocket from California instead will enter prolonged storage after a major merger in the industry.
Previous competitors GeoEye of Virginia and DigitalGlobe of Colorado operated independent fleets of sharp-eyed satellites to collect high-resolution images of the Earth's surface. But under the merger that closed Jan. 30, the two rivals will have a combined constellation of five Earth observation satellites and a broad suite of high-value geospatial production and analytic services.
The two companies also have two state-of-the-art satellites under construction, GeoEye 2 originally slated for launching this spring and WorldView 3 following in 2014 aboard Atlas 5 rockets from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Under the revised plan announced Monday, the GeoEye 2 spacecraft will see its launch deferred at least a few years while WorldView 3 progresses as scheduled towards liftoff in the middle of next year to support the firm's EnhancedView contract to supply images to the U.S. government and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
WorldView 3 was sel ected to proceed forward because it will have the capability to provide imagery in multiple short-wave infrared bands that can penetrate haze, fog, dust, smoke and other air-born particulates, officials said.
"After careful consideration and discussions with our largest customer and others, we have determined that launching WorldView 3 and preserving GeoEye 2 as a ground spare will best meet the collective needs of customers and shareowners alike," said Jeffrey R. Tarr, president and chief executive officer of the merged company named DigitalGlobe.
"This plan reduces our risk profile and capital footprint, while giving our customers access to the most advanced earth observation capabilities available commercially. Furthermore, as we move forward, if demand exceeds our expectations, we will be well positioned to quickly expand our constellation. GeoEye 2 and WorldView 3 are extraordinary satellites, and I want to thank all of our team members and partners for their continued efforts toward their completion."
Ball Aerospace is building WorldView 3, which is designed to collect imagery at 31-centimeter panchromatic resolution, 1.24-meter multispectral resolution in 8 spectral bands and 3.7-meter short-wave infrared resolution in an additional 8 spectral bands.
Flying at altitude of 617 km (383 miles), the satellite will be capable of collecting up to 680,000 square km per day, bringing the collection capacity of the DigitalGlobe constellation to over 4.2 million square km per day.
Lockheed Martin is building GeoEye 2 to the specs of capturing panchromatic imagery at 0.34-meter resolution from an altitude of 681 km (423 miles).
Officials said the satellite, which has been assembled and is undergoing environmental testing to simulate the in-space conditions it will face, will be postured to launch when a replacement is needed for the constellation or if customer demands require it sooner.
The delayed deployment now gives United Launch Alliance a combined dozen Atlas and Delta flights this year. The first mission was completed successfully last week and the next is planned for Monday, Feb. 11 fr om Vandenberg.
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1302/04geoeye2/