瑞典投资公司EQT旗下的卫星地面服务平台SatPort Infrastructure已收购Speedcast的地面站业务，进一步押注卫星基础设施，因为企业和政府正竞相在太空构建通信网络。该公司向彭博新闻社透露了这一消息。
AB has acquired the ground stations unit of Speedcast, expanding its bet on satellite infrastructure as companies and governments race to build out their communications networks in space, the Swedish investment firm told Bloomberg News.
知情人士透露，交易金额约为3亿美元，该人士因信息尚未公开而要求不具名。地面站是与太空卫星通信并建立与地面电信服务连接的基础设施。
EQT-owned satellite ground services platform SatPort Infrastructure bought the business for about $300 million, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public. Ground stations are infrastructure that communicate with satellites in space and establish a link with telecommunications services on the ground.
总部位于休斯敦的卫星通信服务商Speedcast由私募投资公司Centerbridge Partners LP支持，彭博新闻社去年曾报道称，该公司正考虑出售其地面站业务。
Speedcast, a Houston-based provider of satellite communications backed by private investment firm Centerbridge Partners LP, was considering selling off its ground stations business last year, Bloomberg News reported.
EQT拒绝就交易条款置评。Speedcast代表未立即回应置评请求。
EQT declined to comment on the deal terms. A representative for Speedcast did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
EQT合伙人Carl Sjölund在接受采访时表示：“我们的雄心是打造下一代全球基础设施冠军，参与这一增长，并将其确立为一个新的数字基础设施资产类别。”他将地面站比作移动运营商建设并剥离塔业务。
“Our ambition is to build the next generation of global infrastructure champions, take part in that growth, and establish this as a new digital infrastructure asset class,” Carl Sjölund, partner at EQT said in an interview. He compared ground stations to mobile operators building up and spinning off tower businesses.
在埃隆·马斯克的星链展示了星座在消费、商业和军事应用方面的潜力后，卫星基础设施已成为一项战略性重要技术。欧洲各国政府正致力于确保对卫星基础设施和频谱的控制权和使用权，以减少对美国公司的依赖。美国电信公司也在构建星链的替代方案。
Satellite infrastructure has become a strategically important technology after Elon Musk’s Starlink demonstrated the potential of constellations for consumer, commercial and military applications. European governments are moving to secure control and access to satellite infrastructure and spectrum in order to reduce their reliance on US companies. US telecommunications firms are also building up alternative offerings to Starlink.
Sjölund表示，随着更多星座上线，EQT正押注地面基础设施需求将增长。
EQT is betting on growing demand for ground infrastructure as more constellations come online, Sjölund said.
该交易包括在五大洲设立的12个地面站或转发站。约有100名 Speedcast 员工将加入 SatPort，所收购的地面基础设施将继续通过长期服务协议为 Speedcast 的卫星提供服务。该交易还将帮助 SatPort 为 Telesat Corp. 的卫星星座提供服务，此前已于九月与该加拿大公司达成协议。
The deal includes 12 ground stations, or teleports, across five continents. About 100 Speedcast employees will join SatPort, and the acquired ground structure will continue serving Speedcast’s satellites via a long-term service agreement. The deal will also help SatPort serve Telesat Corp.’s constellation of satellites, following an agreement with the Canadian firm in September.
EQT 正在扩大其在航天行业的布局，已投资发射与部署公司 Exolaunch GmbH、可重复使用航天器开发商 The Exploration Company 以及基于空间的数据中心初创企业 Starcloud。它还管理欧盟的 Scaleup Europe Fund，该基金已支持芬兰卫星初创公司 Iceye。
EQT has been expanding across the space industry, investing in launch and deployment company Exolaunch GmbH, reusable spacecraft developer The Exploration Company and space-based data center startup Starcloud. It also manages the European Union’s Scaleup Europe Fund, which has backed Finnish satellite start up Iceye.