Altamir - Registration Document 2016

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1 FINANCIAL AND LEGAL INFORMATION
Presentation and history of the Company
Sector Country Date
of investment
Residual cost
in €m
Fair value
in €m
% of the portfolio
at fair value
France 2016 59.1 105.8 12.1
1) Business description
Marlink is one of the world’s leading providers of satellite
communication services. The company serves the world’s
maritime sectors, in addition to thousands of users in themining,
energy and humanitarian sectors who operate in challenging
environments and are in need of highly reliablemobile and fixed
connectivity services. Operating in 14 countries across Europe,
Asia, the Middle East and the Americas, it has a distribution
network of approximately 400 re-sellers worldwide.
2) Why did we invest?
Marlink is a world leader in commercial satellite communication
services. It encompasses the commercial division of Vizada, a
former portfolio company of Apax/Altamir sold toAirbus Group
in 2011. The company mainly operates in the maritime business
sector, where it is a global leader, but it also offers terrestrial
solutions. Revenue expansion is expected though increasing
exposure to the fast-growing and attractive maritime Ka- and
Ku-band VSAT market. Marlink is well positioned to capture
market growth through (i) an exhaustive product portfolio, (ii)
a global distribution network, and (iii) a large and diversified
customer base.
3) How do we intend to create value?
Our investment thesis is based on several drivers of value
creation: (i) accelerating VSAT delivery; (ii) developing value-
added services beyond connectivity to increaseARPU (Average
Revenue Per User) and customer retention; (iii) focusing on
Land core verticals (onshore Oil & Gas, Mining, Media and
Humanitarian); (iv) driving profitability through operational
efficiencies and the outsourcing of installation andmaintenance
activities; and (v) consolidating a highly fragmented industry.
4) What has been achieved?
Since investment, Marlinkhas activelypursued itsVSATmigration
strategy to reach a total installedbase of 2,536 vessels (vs. 2,032
at the end of 2015).
Six months after it was acquired, Marlink acquired the Italian
company Telemar, creating theworld’s leading communications,
digital solutions and servicing group in themaritime sector. The
new group employs 800 people and serves more than one in
three vessels operating globally.
5) How is it performing?
In 2016, Marlink continued to demonstrate solid growth in the
maritime VSAT sector, with an increasing customer base. The
company signed a new contract with Inmarsat on both the
existing MSS and the upcoming GX technologies.
The company’s Enterprisedivision completed its turnaroundand
generated positive EBITDA. Marlink has also renewed important
contracts in the land business and secured a few new ones.
In 2016, Marlink reported $350m of core revenue (flat vs. 2015)
and a 16% rise inEBITDA. These increases reflected the expected
decline inMSS services, offset by a fast take-upof VSAT services.
A shift in product mix towards VSAT technology enabled the
company to substantially boost its EBITDA performance.
Including Telemar on a pro-forma basis, the company posted
revenue of €453m and a 29% growth in EBITDA.
The valuation of the investment in Marlink grew by €46.8m
during the financial year 2016.
6) How will we crystallise value?
In the context of ongoingmarket consolidation, Marlink couldbe
a good candidate for a strategic buyer seeking to reinforce its
presence in themaritime sector. Marlink could also be of interest
to a financial investor.
24 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 1 ALTAMIR 2016