Eutelsat, Bharti-backed OneWeb announce merger deal

NEW DELHI: French satellite operator Eutelsat and Bharti Group-backed OneWeb Tuesday signed an initial merger agreement which will help the two to take on billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper.

The all-cash transaction values OneWeb at $3.4 billion, and would be structured as an exchange of OneWeb shares by its shareholders with new shares issued by Eutelsat, such that, at closing, Eutelsat would own 100% of OneWeb, according to an official statement.

Eutelsat will combine its 36-strong fleet of geosynchronous (GEO) satellites with OneWeb’s constellation of 648 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, of which 428 are currently in orbit.