Paris, 7 October 2021. – Eutelsat raised its stake in OneWeb to 23%, the company announced, making it the second largest shareholder behind Indian Bharti with 30.0%.
Eutelsat said it has exercised a call option for $165 million, taking its shareholding from 17.6% to 22.9%.
Since Eutelsat’s initial investment, OneWeb has gained “significant traction, both operationally, with a 100% launch success rate leading to nearly half of the constellation now in orbit, and commercially, with numerous distribution partnerships secured ahead of its partial entry into service”, Eutelsat said.
OneWeb recently had strengthened its capital structure with an additional $500 million commitment by Bharti and a $300 million capital injection from South Korea’s Hanwha.
In its latest financial results, Eutelsat reported a liquidity – as per 30 June 2021 – of €1.9 billion in cash and undrawn credit lines.
The satellite operator last week rejected a takeover bid from the French media and telecommunications tycoon Patrick Drahi. Drahi is now expected to think about a revised bid, the Financial Times reported.
