The private-equity arm of Morgan Stanley (MS) announced plans to
sell nearly half its 31% stake in DigitalGlobe Inc. (DGI) as shares
of the provider of imaging services to the defense community have
jumped one-third this year.
The move by Morgan Stanley will result in the investment bank
losing the right to name two of DigitalGlobe's nine directors; it
will keep the right to nominate three so long as its stake remains
above 15%. The sale of at least 6 million DigitalGlobe shares will
cut its stake to as little as 18%.
Meanwhile, DigitalGlobe reiterated its 2010 guidance and
forecast third-quarter earnings of 10 cents to 14 cents a share on
revenue of $85 million to $91 million. On average, analysts polled
by Thomson Reuters most recently expected 11 cents and $87 million,
respectively.
The company has been reporting growth but profit in the second
quarter fell on a surge in interest costs. DigitalGlobe last month
unveiled a 10-year contract valued at $3.55 billion with the
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
DigitalGlobe shares closed Monday at $32.24 and were inactive
premarket.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481; Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com;