Swedish satellite concern SES Sirius has rebranded as SES Astra. It follows the Luxembourg SES taking full control of the company and its 5 degrees East orbital slot in March.
Henceforth the Sirius 4 satellite at 5 degrees East, and serving the Nordic and Baltic countries, Eastern Europe and Southern Africa, will be known as Astra 4A.
“SES Astra stands for 25 years of excellence in Direct-to-Home-broadcasting,” said Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES Astra. “With the full acquisition of SES Sirius we have successfully expanded our business beyond our core markets and established our success model in Central and Eastern Europe. We are confident that the unified brand name will help us to further leverage on our success, to strengthen the Astra brand and to significantly drive our business in these important growth markets.”
SES became a shareholder in the former Swedish operator in October 2000 with an initial 50% holding, which was increased to 90% on 2008. In the intervening years the five degrees East slot has extended beyond Sweden and the Nordic region and into Central and Eastern Europe. SES Sirius has offices in Sweden, Latvia, Russia, Ukraine and Romania.
