Harbinger seeks to combine Inmarsat with SkyTerra

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. hedge fund Harbinger plans to bid for British satellite communication firm Inmarsat (ISA.L: Quote, Profile, Research), pending regulatory approval, and combine the group with its SkyTerra (SKYT.OB: Quote, Profile, Research) business, it said on Friday.

Harbinger, which already owns 28 percent of Inmarsat and, together with an affiliate, 48 percent of satellite communications group SkyTerra, said it was likely to take 12-18 months to obtain regulatory approvals.

A deal would help SkyTerra to develop an integrated satellite-terrestrial communications network to provide wireless coverage of the United States and Canada to consumer handsets.

Harbinger said that because of the need for, and uncertainty over, regulatory approvals, it was not able to announce the terms or structure of its potential offer.

Inmarsat said it remained confident of its own standalone prospects, but would carefully consider any offer.

At 12:25 p.m. GMT (8:25 a.m. EDT), Inmarsat shares were up 2.2 percent at 470.75 pence, valuing the firm at 2.2 billion pounds ($4.4 billion).

SkyTerra is the parent company of Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) which, along with Canadian joint venture partner Mobile Satellite Ventures (Canada) Inc, delivers mobile wireless voice and data services primarily for public safety, security, fleet management and asset tracking in the United States and Canada.

SkyTerra and MSV said in a statement that Harbinger had agreed to provide $500 million of debt financing to fund SkyTerra's business plan through the third quarter of 2010.

They also supported the move to combine with Inmarsat.