A ruling issued by the Paris Court of Appeal on November 23 has eased tensions between Eutelsat and its long-standing partner Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC).
According to La Tribune, the ruling related to the Yukos case and found in favour of RSCC. It prompted Eutelsat, which is leasing capacity on two RSCC satellites launched in 2013 and 2015, to pay the Russian company an amount La Tribune understands to have been €70 million. RSCC subsequently confirmed receipt of the payment.
On September 4 Eutelsat said it owed RSCC around €396 million, plus dividends of €77.9 million. However, it will eventually pay RSCC, in terms of an ongoing contractual relationship, close to €600 million.
Eutelsat has partnered with RSCC since 1994 and through it is a leading player in Russia’s pay-TV industry. As a result, it has on average a turnover of €100 million in the country, which is its second largest customer. In 2012 the two companies signed an agreement through which Eutelsat leases capacity from RSCC to operate broadcast and IP services. Worth approximately €300 million over a 15-year period, it was extended in July 2013.
Former shareholders of the Russian company Yukos have tried for some years to seize payments by French companies to the Russian government. They included Cyprus-based Hulley Enterprises, who argued that RSCC was part of the Russian government. However, the Paris Court of Appeal dismissed this argument.
