Bharti backs bid for SoftBank’s collapsed satellite operator OneWeb: Report

Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises is backing a bid for collapsed SoftBank-backed satellite operator OneWeb, two sources said, in a consortium that is supported by the British government.

OneWeb filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at the end of March after its biggest investor SoftBank Group Corp pulled funding, with an auction for the startup due to start on Thursday.

London-based investment firm Unbound is run by the son of Indian telecoms tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal, whose interests include telecoms and real estate. The British government is weighing up a 20 per cent stake in OneWeb, one of the sources said.

Bharti, which previously invested in the startup, did not respond to a request for comment. OneWeb and the British government declined to comment.