PARIS, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- EADS subsidiary Astrium, which has headquarters in France, has acquired Norwegian satellite communications company Vizada for $876 million.
Vizada will be integrated into the company's Astrium Services unit.
"We are happy to welcome Vizada into the EADS Group, which concludes a successful year for us in terms of acquisitions," said Marwan Lahoud, head of EADS Corporate Strategy and Marketing Organization.
"In 2011, we have significantly strengthened our services portfolio, which is a key focus of our acquisition strategy."
The EADS Group has headquarters in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries such as Cassidian, Eurocopter and Airbus.
"Combining the skills and capabilities of everyone in Vizada and Astrium Services creates a world leading provider of satellite services," said Eric Beranger, chief executive officer of Astrium Services.
"Together, we now provide our customers and partners with the broadest range of product and service choices -- from fixed to mobile services, and from government to civil and private customers.
"In sharing our best practices and building on both teams' expertise, we will create new growth by continuing to develop innovative products to meet our evolving customer needs worldwide."
Under Vizada's corporate umbrella are Vizada Americas, Vizada Networks, Vizada EMEA and AsiaPacific and Marlink, which provide customers with mobile and fixed connectivity services through multiple satellite network operators.
Astrium Services is a commercial provider of military-specific communications services.
It said that the integration of Vizada adds to its range of products and solutions.
