Longmont's DigitalGlobe Inc. said Wednesday that it has received antitrust clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice in connection with DigitalGlobe's pending combination with GeoEye, Inc.
On July 23, the boards of directors of both DigitalGlobe and GeoEye unanimously approved a merger agreement under which the companies will combine.
The combined company will create the world's largest fleet of high-resolution, earth-imagery satellites.
About 60 percent of the two companies' annual revenues are linked to the U.S. government, predominantly through the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, known as the NGA.
Completion of the transaction is subject to obtaining regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
DigitalGlobe said it is working cooperatively with the FCC and NOAA and the transaction is expected to close on Jan. 31.
Simulateneous with the closing of the transaction, DigitalGlobe expects to complete a $1.2 billion refinancing, which is expected to include a combination of senior notes and senior credit facilities.
DigitalGlobe said it has secured a $1.2 billion fully committed financing from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ to refinance the combined company's outstanding debt.
GeoEye, of Herndon, Va., has more than 700 employees, including 217 in Colorado. DigitalGlobe has 688 employees in Longmont and a total of 741.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939, hpankratz@denverpost.com or twitter.com/howardpankratz