The UK government has joined a €1.5bn capital raise for French satellite internet network Eutelsat.
The French firm, listed in Paris and London, is seen as Europe’s rival to Elon Musk’s satellite internet network Starlink.
Eutelsat was merged with UK firm OneWeb, also founded to deliver global internet coverage via low earth orbit satellites, in a £2.8bn deal in 2023. OneWeb’s British CEO Stephen Beynon departed a year later.
The UK government saved OneWeb from bankruptcy in 2020, with the firm becoming jointly owned by the government and Indian giant Bharti Global – BT’s largest shareholder – after each committed $500m.
In 2021 Eutelsat acquired a 24% stake for £400m and a further £217m round soon followed, with South Korean tech giant Hanwha investing £217m. Following the merger, the UK government held a 10.9% stake in the combined firm.
Now the UK government has committed around €163m in return for shares in Eutelsat. The French government has subscribed for €750m, with Bharti Space, CMA CGM and FSP also joining.
When completed – expected to be in this calendar year – the French State would hold a stake of 29.65% in Eutelsat while Bharti Space, the UK government, CMA CGM and FSP would respectively hold 17.88%, 10.89%, 7.46%, and 4.99% of the share capital and voting rights.
“We are delighted by this support from His Majesty’s Government, which has been one of the mainstays of OneWeb, and subsequently Eutelsat’s anchor shareholders from the outset of our Low Earth Orbit journey,” said Jean-François Fallacher, CEO of Eutelsat.
“In the current environment it is crucial that our countries continue to collaborate and support each other, including in space, which has become a key sovereign strategic asset. We remain committed to the UK which we consider as one of our home markets and to supporting the development of OneWeb to address the needs of all our sovereign and commercial stakeholders.”
Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology added: “From checking the weather forecast on our phones to navigating with GPS in our cars, satellites underpin industrial activity worth £364bn to the UK economy.
“But their critical role extends far beyond economic growth. As our adversaries increasingly use space technologies to harm us, resilient satellite connectivity has become essential to our continent’s national security.
“This investment reflects our commitment to support the development of these critical technologies and maintain an important stake in the global satellite communications sector.”