Wild Blue Purchased for $568 Million

The Wall Street Journal reports that ViaSat Inc is set to buy Satellite Internet Provider Wild Blue Communications for $568 million in stock and cash.  Other than reaching a settlement in principle, the deal makes a lot of sense as both organizations have worked together for more than a decade.  The deal is expected to close sometime between January and April of next year. Wild Blue currently provides high speed service to 400,000 subscribers, mostly in rural areas.  Sometime in 2011, Via Sat plans to launch a new satellite that will greatly expand the number of customers they can serve.