Eutelsat’s headquarters in Paris. Photo: Eutelsat
The United Kingdom is set to join Eutelsat Group’s capital raise with a 90 million euro ($105 million) investment, increasing the capital raise to 1.5 billion euros ($1.8 million)
This comes after Eutelsat announced a major fundraising increase last month, led by the French government with participation from Bharti Space Limited, French shipping company CMA CGM, and Le Fonds Stratégique de Participations (FSP). France pointed to Eutelsat’s strategic position for European space industry and digital sovereignty.
The U.K. government was part of the original consortium with Bharti that rescued OneWeb from bankruptcy in 2020, before it was acquired by Eutelsat.
“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,” commented U.K. Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle.
Once closed, the deal would make the U.K. government the third-largest shareholder in Eutelsat, after the French government with 29.65%, and Bharti Space Limited with 17.88%. The U.K. government would hold 10.89%.
Eutelsat’s share price has jumped over the past month with news of the French investment, which coincided with a framework for the French armed forces ministry DGA to procure up to 1 billion euros in OneWeb services.
“We remain committed to the U.K. 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,” Eutelsat CEO Jean-François Fallacher commented.
The planned investment is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.