Eutelsat Communications invests $550 million in OneWeb

Paris-based Eutelsat Communications has invested $550 million in OneWeb, a broadband satellite communications company acquired by a consortium of investors comprising the UK government and Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Global. The investment will take total funding in OneWeb to $1.9 billion.

In January, Japan’s SoftBank Group and Hughes Network Systems LLC had invested $400 million in OneWeb. The UK government and Bharti Global invested $500 million each to acquire OneWeb under a bankruptcy resolution process.

“This investment from one of the world’s most experienced and largest global operators is a vote of confidence in OneWeb and underscores the arrival of low-earth orbit (Leo) satellites into mainstream long-term growth planning for major operators,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday.