Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR) (TSX:MAXR), a trusted partner and
innovator in Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure, today
announced it has closed the sale of MDA, previously a wholly owned
subsidiary of the company, to a consortium of investors led by
Northern Private Capital for CAD$1 billion. Net proceeds, including
customary adjustments, and after application of currency hedges
related to the transaction is expected to be approximately US$729
million.
“The closing of the MDA transaction concludes the near-term
reshaping of our balance sheet and business portfolio,” said Dan
Jablonsky, Maxar CEO. “Going forward, our growth strategy remains
focused on providing leading capabilities in Earth Intelligence and
Space Infrastructure, including geospatial data, data analytics and
spacecraft and robotics that are well aligned with the strategic
priorities of our government and commercial customers.”
“The closing of this transaction — when combined with the
recently completed sale of real estate in Palo Alto — reduces
Maxar’s overall net debt by roughly $1 billion and significantly
improves the company’s leverage ratio,” said Biggs Porter, Maxar
CFO. “Importantly, we believe these actions provide Maxar increased
flexibility, range and focus to drive revenue, profit and cash flow
growth over the next several years. We also have good liquidity
with only $15 million drawn on our $500 million credit facility as
of March 31, 2020.”
After deducting fees, expenses and any reserves for
contingencies, the proceeds will be used to reduce indebtedness as
proscribed in the company’s credit arrangements.
Update on Maxar’s COVID-19 Operational Posture
Maxar has activated its standing pandemic crisis response plan
to protect the health and safety of its team members, families,
customers and communities while continuing to meet our commitments
to customers. Our mitigation strategies cover employee preparation,
travel, security, supply chain, virtual work, facility preparation
and communications.
All Maxar locations are currently operational through a
combination of work from home and limited personnel working onsite
for essential operations, though in some cases capacity utilization
and productivity are below normalized levels. As aerospace
manufacturing, communications and defense are federal critical
infrastructure sectors, Maxar is allowed to keep some of our
workforce on site to maintain critical operations. And in doing so,
the company continues to diligently follow CDC protocols including
social distancing, alternating shifts, temperature checks, deep
cleaning and isolation strategies for essential personnel working
at Maxar sites.
Our protocols and operational posture are part of a greater
collective effort across communities and regions to flatten the
curve on COVID-19 case volumes to avoid overwhelming the capacity
of the healthcare system.
It is difficult to predict exactly how the course of events will
unfold in the months ahead, but Maxar is encouraged by the
cooperation it has already seen between governments and the private
sector.
Maxar Continues Delivery of Essential Services for Critical
Missions
Maxar has long-held customer relationships with U.S. and allied
governments and a diverse set of commercial companies, multi-year
service contracts for data and data analytics in its Earth
Intelligence segment and multi-year manufacturing and service
contracts in its Space Infrastructure segment. Maxar continues to
perform on all these contracts.
Maxar’s Earth Intelligence capabilities provide actionable
insights that allow governments, commercial partners and
non-governmental organizations to make decisions with confidence.
Our Mission Operations Center is staffed 24/7, flying our WorldView
imaging satellites and delivering timely data without interruption
to customers over secure networks. Hundreds of Maxar team members
perform classified geospatial intelligence work in support of
national security missions, and nearly all of these employees have
been able to continue their work remotely or at company facilities
while many government facilities are closed.
More than 300,000 U.S. Government users have online access to
Maxar’s imagery collections in near-real time. More than 50 allied
nations around the world rely on Maxar products and services to
augment their national intelligence missions. Additionally, the
company is leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning
tools to automatically detect change and characterize levels of
activity related to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping decision makers
deploy resources efficiently and understand economic impacts.
In our Space Infrastructure segment, Maxar is responsible for
providing operational support to 92 on-orbit, operating
communications satellites worldwide. A large proportion of these
provide critical communications to national governments, state and
local first responders and television and radio networks. The
company also continues work on various satellite programs that will
provide important resiliency and continuity for these critical
communications and network infrastructures.
In addition to communications satellites, Maxar is developing
spacecraft and robotics for NASA that will demonstrate in-orbit
satellite refueling and assembly; improve pollution monitoring in
North America; explore an all-metal asteroid; and provide power and
propulsion for the Gateway spacecraft that will enable a
sustainable human deep-space presence in collaboration with
international partners.
America, allied nations and citizens across the world are
uniquely reliant on commercial firms for many essential services,
and commercial firms like Maxar have a responsibility to continue
delivering those services while minimizing risk to employees.
Financial Outlook
The near and long-term impacts of the current pandemic on the
cost and schedule of the numerous programs in the Company’s
existing backlog and the timing of new awards remains uncertain.
The Company previously disclosed that it is observing stress in its
supplier base in and outside the United States and that it
continues to monitor and assess the actual and potential COVID-19
impacts on employees, customers, suppliers and the productivity of
the work being done, all of which to some extent will affect
revenue, earnings and cash flow. The company is currently assessing
the U.S. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
signed into law on March 27, which provides support for the
resiliency of the defense industrial base and critical
infrastructure industries.
The Company plans to provide an update on the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic on its financial outlook when it releases first
quarter 2020 earnings on May 6, 2020.
About Maxar
Maxar is a trusted partner and innovator in Earth Intelligence
and Space Infrastructure. We deliver disruptive value to government
and commercial customers to help them monitor, understand and
navigate our changing planet; deliver global broadband
communications; and explore and advance the use of space. Our
unique approach combines decades of deep mission understanding and
a proven commercial and defense foundation to deploy solutions and
deliver insights with unrivaled speed, scale and cost
effectiveness. Maxar’s 4,000 team members in 30 global locations
are inspired to harness the potential of space to help our
customers create a better world. Maxar trades on the New York Stock
Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange as MAXR. For more information,
visit www.maxar.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements and other information included in this
release constitute "forward-looking information" or
"forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking
statements") under applicable securities laws. Statements including
words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "plan",
"potential", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate" or
"expect" and other words, terms and phrases of similar meaning are
often intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not
all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
Forward-looking statements involve estimates, expectations,
projections, goals, forecasts, assumptions, risks and
uncertainties, as well as other statements referring to or
including forward-looking information included in this
presentation.
Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and
uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially
from the anticipated results or expectations expressed in this
presentation. As a result, although management of the Company
believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such
forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance
should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the
Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct.
The risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from
current expectations include, but are not limited to, the risk
factors and other disclosures about the Company and its business
included in the Company's continuous disclosure materials filed
from time to time with U.S. securities and Canadian regulatory
authorities, which are available online under the Company's EDGAR
profile at www.sec.gov, under the Company's SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com or on the Company's website at www.maxar.com.
The forward-looking statements contained in this release are
expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary
statements. All such forward-looking statements are based upon data
available as of the date of this presentation or other specified
date and speak only as of such date. The Company disclaims any
intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements in this presentation as a result of new information or
future events, except as may be required under applicable
securities legislation.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200408005735/en/
Investor Relations Contact: Jason Gursky Maxar VP
Investor Relations 1-303-684-2207 jason.gursky@maxar.com
Media Contact: Turner Brinton Maxar Media Relations
1-303-684-4545 turner.brinton@maxar.com
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