U.K. to join France, Bharti group in fresh capital infusion in Eutelsat
French president Emmanuel Macron said at the Paris Air Show when the additional investment was announced that Europe could not afford to be left out of the low-earth orbit satellite internet constellation market, an allusion to Starlink's dominance in the domain, and pitched OneWeb as 'the solution for our major strategic partners in the Gulf, India, Canada and Brazil'.
In recent weeks, Starlink has secured major approvals from the Departments of Telecommunications and Space. OneWeb is being tested out for low-stakes connectivity use cases by the military, according to a senior executive at the company.
'This new capital injection will allow Eutelsat to go further and faster in developing innovative new technologies and services under the leadership of its new CEO, Jean-François Fallacher,' Sunil Bharti Mittal, Bharti Group chairman who also serves as Eutelsat's co-chairman, said in a statement.
The French government will, after this capital infusion round, hold a 29.56% stake in Eutelsat, after infusing €550.7 million, over two-and-a-half times its existing investment, doubling its previous stake; Bharti Space Ltd will hold 17.88% after investing close to €29.9 million, one fourth of its existing investments, reducing its stake from 24.09%; the U.K. will maintain its 10% stake with its €90 million investment; CMA CGM, a French shipping giant, will marginally increase its holding to €50.2 million, and other investors will hold roughly 35% put together.
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