SES’s €2.8 billion acquisition of Intelsat was cleared by the UK’s competition regulator, in a move that will create a satellite giant to better compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The Competition and Markets Authority decided on the basis of “the information currently available to it,” to not subject the deal to an in-depth probe, it said in a statement on Friday.
Together, Intelsat and SES will compete with not just Starlink but other satellite providers that have recently grown through acquisitions including Inmarsat Group Holdings, and France’s Eutelsat.
SES depository receipts rose 1.8% by 10 a.m. in Paris. Spokespeople for SES and Intelsat didn’t immediately respond to Bloomberg emails.
The deal was revived in 2024 after talks had collapsed because Intelsat failed to reach an agreement with SES and its major stakeholders on the future direction of the business. Luxembourg-based SES counts the small European nation’s government as its biggest shareholder.
The European Union’s antitrust watchdog’s is also examining the deal and has set a 10 June deadline to clear it or not.