Iridium Buying Satellite PNT Services Firm Satellites Inc.

Iridium hopes it will close within weeks on its acquisition of Satellites Inc. and its satellite-based time and location augmentation services, Iridium said Monday. Iridium will focus on allowing easier adoption of satellite time and location services and their integration with autonomous systems, consumer devices and vehicles, according to the news release. The company has a 20% stake in Satellites now and is buying the remaining 80% for $115 million. The precision navigation and timing market "is growing; it's a perfect application of our network, and this solution solves a problem for critical industries better than anything else," Iridium CEO Matt Desch said.