The French state has bolstered its take in Eutelsat as part of a €1.35 billion capital increase.
The Paris-based satellite operator is taking advantage of the strong market momentum within the LEO-enabled connectivity market.
Yesterday, the French military agreed a 10-year deal to buy satellite communications services from OneWeb, which like Elon Musk’s Starlink delivers connectivity to business and government from the increasingly strategic region of low earth orbit.
OneWeb was originally bailed out by the UK Government, who could still invest further at a later date.
The global satellite connectivity market is expected to increase by 12% per annum between 2025 and 2029, while the global LEO B2B connectivity market, valued at over $2.1 billion in 2025 is expected to multiply its current size fivefold over the next eight years, offering significant short to long-term growth potential.
Eutelsat has the spectrum and is currently the only GEO-LEO operator, and the only European operator with a fully operational LEO network. The acquisition of OneWeb has helped Eutelsat expand its coverage that is now expected to be fully achieved in calendar year-end 2026.
However, it has also contributed towards a €4 billion gap in its financing as it looks to replace the income caused by the sharp decline in the broadcast services market.
Eutelsat is contemplating raising €1.35 billion of capital by way of a reserved capital increase of €716 million at a price per share of €4. The capital increase would be funded by the French State via the Agence des Participations de l’Etat, Bharti Space Limited, CMA CGM, and Le Fonds Stratégique de Participations and a €634 million rights issue signed up to by the new investors.
