Eutelsat secured a capital injection deal worth €1.35 billion through investment from the French state and other shareholders, as the satellite company looks to become a European alternative to Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The French state is to fund the majority of the investment, in turn making it Eutelsat’s largest shareholder with a stake just short of 30 per cent which is more than double the 13.6 per cent it currently holds.
It will inject around €717 million, while other shareholders including India’s Bharti will put up the remainder by the end of the year. The UK government, which also owns a stake in Eutelsat, could join the fundraising in due course.
As a result of the capital increase, net debt Is expected to drop 2.5 times by the end of the financial year, as well as close a €4 billion financing gap.
Through OneWeb which it acquired in 2023, Eutelsat is considered Europe’s big hope to compete with Musk’s SpaceX Starlink entity. However, it needs to invest to upgrade the low Earth orbit (LEO) constellation and faces a €2 billion bill to help develop IRIS2, a European space programme.
European sovereignty
In a statement, Eutelsat explained it is one of only two global operators with active commercial LEO fleets, and it is positioned to play a strategic role in supporting critical sectors including military communications, cyber resilience and secure government connectivity.
Jean Francois-Fallacher, CEO of Eutelsat, added the company is “ready to become a central player in the development of the European sovereign space of tomorrow”.
The capital increase deal came shortly after Eutelsat struck a deal worth up to €1 billion to supply France’s military with connectivity services.