Harris further expands satellite reach with latest acquisition

Harris Corp. will pay approximately $397.5 million in cash to purchase the Global Connectivity Services business unit of Schlumberger Information Solutions.

Schlumberger GCS provides global communication services to a wide range of customers, primarily in the oil and gas industries, in more than 50 countries, according to a Harris announcement today.

With principal operations in the United Kingdom, Norway, Singapore and the United States, Schlumberger GCS has 400 employees in more than 25 countries, 12 globally deployed teleports, a round-the-clock network operations center, worldwide terrestrial infrastructure, and very-small-aperture terminal manufacturing capabilities in Britain and Singapore.

The acquisition will significantly extend Harris’ capabilities as a global provider of mission-critical, end-to-end managed satellite communications services for customers that operate in remote and harsh environments, including the energy, government and maritime industries, the announcement states.

The agreement to acquire Schlumberger GCS follows Harris’ July 30 acquisition of CapRock Communications, a global provider of managed satellite communications solutions — including broadband Internet, IP voice services, secure networking and real-time video — for the energy, government and maritime industries and for disaster recovery.

Schlumberger GCS will be combined with CapRock Communications to form Harris CapRock Communications.

The Schlumberger GCS transaction is subject to the customary regulatory reviews and closing conditions. It is expected to close during the third quarter of fiscal 2011.

Harris, of Melbourne, Fla., ranks No. 13 on Washington Technology’s 2010 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.