JetBlue Airways this morning announced the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, LiveTV, to the Thales Group for $400 million, subject to regulatory and other approvals.
The deal is expected to be completed later this summer.
LiveTV, based in Melbourne, Fla., has been with JetBlue since 1998 and is one of the leading providers of live in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems for commercial airlines.
“LiveTV has been an important part of building the JetBlue experience,” JetBlue President Robin Hayes said in a statement. “Their ability to combine market leadership and drive technological advances has given JetBlue a market advantage in the onboard experience. We now come to the point where LiveTV’s future as a disrupter in the inflight entertainment and data services space is best served by pairing with the right partner. We found that partner in Thales, themselves innovators in the technology space.”
LiveTV will continue to provide support for JetBlue’s live TV and in-flight connectivity product, Fly-Fi. The benefit to JetBlue is that it retains LiveTV as a service provider without having the operating costs and capital expenditures of running the company as a subsidiary. That now falls to the Thales Group.
“LiveTV is a great strategic fit for Thales,” Jean-Bernard Lévy, Chairman and CEO of Thales Group said. “It will improve our positioning in the high growth business of In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity. Our aim is to offer the highest performance and most competitive and flexible connectivity solution to airlines regardless of their fleet-size, aircraft type or route structure.
“Passengers increasingly expect broadband internet services at home, at work and on the move. Airlines want to enable their passengers to have access to this connected environment within the aircraft, allowing them to interact with both social media and professional networks while they travel.”
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