Russia’s S7 Group signs agreement to acquire Sea Launch

On the sidelines of the 2016 International Astronautical Congress being held in Guadalajara, Mexico, S7 Group, which is Russia’s largest private aviation holding company, signed an agreement to purchase the assets of the Sea Launch complex. The deal includes the acquisition of the Sea Launch Commander vessel and the Odyssey Launch Platform, along with launch support equipment, ground support equipment located at the Long Beach, CA. home port facility, and the Sea Launch trademark.
Approval from various U.S. authorities will now be sought, including that of the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, and the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States. It is anticipated that a period of six months will be required for the various approvals, as well as the signing of a number of ancillary agreements which form part of the deal.
According to Vladislav Filev, S7’s CEO, “We plan to de-mothball the complex and restart space launches 18 months after the deal approvals are obtained, which is anticipated to be late 2018. We expect to be able to perform up to 70 launches within 15 years without making any major investments in upgrades to the Sea Launch complex. Our business approach is radically different from what you see at many companies: we will not sell promises; we will sell launches only when our launch vehicles are ready to take to the atmosphere,” adding, “”The acquisition of the Sea Launch is a ‘ticket’ for us to enter the space industry. Space infrastructure is developing rapidly. In our view, it is a very exciting area of business, with good long-term prospects.”
In addition to this agreement, S7 Group also signed an agreement with RSC Energia to continue with the joint operation of the Sea Launch complex. RSC Energia will be responsible for providing S7 Group with total engineering support and help required for preparing launches and also in system integration. RSC Energia’s president, Vladimir Solntsev, is quoted as saying: We are very pleased to have signed this contract. The deal structuring and execution was a lengthy process which required a lot of effort. This is a fairly complex project, but S7 Group has a different operating model with a new business approach, and I am confident that with our support they will make the project a success.”