Hedge funds opposed to Inmarsat takeover drop court challenge

LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Hedge fund investors in Inmarsat said they would not object to the satellite company's takeover by a private equity-led consortium at a court hearing on Tuesday after the buyers said on Monday they would not increase or extend their offer.

Oaktree, Kite Lake and Rubric Capital said they had originally wanted Inmarsat and its buyer to revise the takeover scheme over a contract with Ligado, a U.S. group that licenses some of Inmarsat's airwaves.

"Having considered our position carefully, we now no longer intend to raise objections to the Scheme being sanctioned at the Hearing," the funds said.

A group of buyout funds, including British-based Apax Partners, U.S.-based Warburg Pincus and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), agreed to buy Inmarsat for $3.4 billion in March. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)