Global Eagle Acquisition Corp.(NASDAQ: EAGL; EAGLW; EAGLU) today announced that, upon theclosing of its proposed business combination transaction, John LaValle, the Chief Executive Officer of Row 44, Inc, will become Chief Executive Officer of Global Eagle, and Louis Belanger-Martin, the Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Inflight Alliance AG, will become Vice Chairman of the Board of Global Eagle.
Under the proposed business combination, Global Eagle will acquire Row 44 and 86% of the issued and outstanding shares of AIA. Global Eagle Acquisition Corp. will be renamed Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. upon the closing and will be the public holding company for both Row 44 and AIA.
"I'm pleased that John has agreed to serve as CEO and Louis as Vice Chairman of Global Eagle Entertainment," stated Ed Shapiro, Chairman of the Boards of Row 44 and AIA and Chairman-designate of Global Eagle Entertainment. "I have worked closely with both John and Louis in their respective CEO roles over the past several years and have watched them build industry leading companies. John has done a tremendous job positioning Row 44 to extend its leadership position in satellite-based in-flight connectivity, while Louis has continued to leverage his nearly two decades of airline content experience to position AIA for the next stage of its growth. I look forward to tapping their talents in running of this newly combined company."
Harry Sloan and Jeff Sagansky, founders of Global Eagle Acquisition Corp.,stated: "The appointments of John and Louis at Global Eagle allows them to bringtheir strengths to the public company level. They work extremely well togetherand we look forward to being part of their success."
Belanger-Martin will continue to serve as the Chief Executive Officer at AIA, a position he has held since 2011. He will also continue to serve as a Member of the Management Board at AIA and will lead the efforts to develop Global Eagle's offering into a single solution. The founder of DTI Software, Belanger-Martin is credited as one of the executives who pioneered the in-flight entertainment business. He will continue to maintain key relationships for AIA and Global Eagle Entertainment with the company's customers, which include more than 100 airlines as well as with international equipment manufactures and leading consortiums of videogame producers.
In November 2012, Global Eagle announced the signing of definitive agreements for the business combination to create the largest entertainment and connectivity platform for the worldwide airline industry. AIA is the leading supplier of games, movies, general entertainment and applications to the airline industry, serving more than 130 airlines worldwide. Row 44 is a leading satellite-based broadband service provider to the global airline industry, with its in-flight entertainment connectivity system currently installed on more than 450 aircraft that operate over land and sea worldwide.
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