NEW YORK, September 23, 2008 - Greenhill & Co., Inc. [NYSE: GHL] today announced that it has agreed to invest $22.9 million in Iridium Holdings, LLC, a leading provider of voice and data mobile satellite services (“MSS”). GHL Acquisition Corp. [AMEX: GHQ], an affiliate of Greenhill, announced simultaneously that it had agreed to acquire Iridium in a transaction that values Iridium at an enterprise value of approximately $591 million.
The $22.9 million investment is subject to customary closing conditions and expected to occur in the fourth quarter 2008, in advance of the closing of the acquisition of Iridium by GHQ. Completion of the acquisition of Iridium by GHL Acquisition Corp. is subject to Federal Communications Commission approval, expiration of the applicable Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period, GHL Acquisition stockholder approval and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to occur in the first part of 2009.
If the acquisition of Iridium is completed on the agreed terms, Greenhill will own approximately 6.9 million shares of the combined company [AMEX:GHQ] and 6 million warrants [AMEX:GHQ/WS], in addition to the Iridium securities to be received by Greenhill pursuant to its $22.9 million investment referred to above.
Scott L. Bok, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Greenhill, said: “Iridium is the fastest growing full service voice and data MSS provider and only one of a handful of players in its industry. It has developed substantial scale in terms of revenue and cash flow. We believe Iridium is a very attractive investment opportunity and look forward to supporting Iridium’s management team as it continues to create value for Iridium’s customers, deliver profitable growth and realize Iridium’s full potential.”