Turning around a failing business & leading it to successful sale
Inmarsat acquired a Scottish systems integration company offering a product potentially competitive to its core market. The acquired business lacked viable sales prospects and was virtually bankrupt. Historically, it had been well-positioned in the Oil & Gas sector.
Michael Salmon was appointed as the Interim General Manager 9 months after the acquisition, when the true state of the business bacame known - his brief, to turn the business around or close it down.
He led an amazing business recovery:
$140m improvement in prospects within 6 months, leading to a 70% improvement in annual turnover;
Reduced overhead costs by 40%; Improved cash-flow by $2m. EBITDA was dramatically improvement.
He then led a strategic review, following market analysis support from Pyramid ODI. This successfully led to:
Approval for and implementation of $2.6m new facility; Diversification into new global Maritime, Government & NGO markets and introduction of a new 24/7 service, generating $15m in new business and the sale of a legacy product.
Two years later, and as Managing Director, Michael recognised the potential disruptive impact of new low-cost entrants from the Far East. He recommended the sale of the non-core business to the Parent Board and identified the the new buyer. The sale was successfully concluded after Inmarsat had completed its IPO.
