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GIS Tech News (#115)

DigitalGlobe, GeoEye Combine to Form Single Satellite Imagery Provider

As competitors become comrades, the already small number of commercial satellite operators shrinks further.

By Cyrena Respini-Irwin

On Monday, two of the largest satellite imagery companies in the world announced that they will become one: DigitalGlobe will purchase GeoEye in a stock and cash transaction valued at approximately $900 million. The merger is expected to close late in the fourth quarter of this year or early in 2013. The combined company will keep the DigitalGlobe name, and Jeffrey Tarr, DigitalGlobe's current president and CEO, will continue in those roles.

The announcement concludes a series of acquisition offers from both parties that began in February. The buyout battle gained urgency from proposed budget cuts that will affect the Pentagon's EnhancedView imagery program, threatening federal contracts that are an essential source of revenue for GeoEye and DigitalGlobe.

Tarr expects the merger to have a beneficial impact on the company's scale and diversification. "We'll be more diversified than traditional defense-sector players," said Tarr during a conference call held Monday to discuss the transaction. "The combined business will be more diversified than either company is today," he said, earning roughly half its revenue from customers outside the U.S. government.

DigitalGlobe's satellite imagery has diverse uses, including disaster monitoring. Google has incorporated imagery of Colorado's Waldo Canyon Fire (above) into its Crisis Map so citizens and disaster management personnel can check on the status of neighborhoods and homes. Image (c) 2012 DigitalGlobe, Inc.

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Cyrena Respini-Irwin is Cadalyst's senior editor.

Mark Your Calendar: GIS Events

INTERGEO 2012
October 9–11, 2012
Hannover, Germany
Participants of this conference will explore topics such as Open GeoData and energy issues, cloud computing, 3D and new technologies, urban development and property valuation. The congress language is German, but some presentations will be in English. Read more 

2012 Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference
October 22–24, 2012
Houston, Texas
This year's Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference will focus on regulation and compliance; risk and integrity management; integrated solutions development; environmental health and safety; and new construction. The event will be conducted by the Geospatial Information & Technology Association. Read more

Trimble Dimensions User Conference 2012
November 5–7, 2012
Las Vegas, Nevada
This educational, networking, and hands-on training conference will provide insight into how technology can transform the way professionals work to achieve success in heavy civil construction; building construction; survey; cadastral; geospatial; mapping and GIS; transportation and logistics; field service management; energy; infrastructure; utilities and natural resource; and government fields. Read more

For a complete list of CAD meetings, conferences, training sessions, and more, check out our calendar of events on Cadalyst.com. Are you hosting an event that you would like to include in our calendar? Submit details at least two weeks in advance to news@cadalyst.com.

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