Satellite operator Eutelsat Communications exercised a call option today having agreed to pay $165m to hike its stake in UK-headquartered satellite internet service provider OneWeb from 17.6% to 22.9%.
The deal is set to close later this year and was part of the $500m call option agreed by conglomerate Bharti Enterprises in June this year. The terms were identical to a $550m round backed by Eutelsat two months before, and Eutelsat will be OneWeb’s second largest shareholder, after Bharti, which owns 30%.
OneWeb provides high-speed internet access through the launch of 650 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, helping users incorporate internet-of-things and 5G applications into their businesses or daily lives.
Hanwha Systems, a smart technology subsidiary of conglomerate Hanwha, agreed last month to acquire an 8.8% stake in OneWeb for $300m, a deal which will help lift the latter’s total funding to $2.7bn when it closes.
The company had filed for bankruptcy in March 2020 as it was incapable of securing further funding amid the covid-19 pandemic, before Bharti and the UK government provided $1bn four months later.
Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank had acquired a 30% stake in OneWeb for $350m in January this year, a deal which came in tandem with a $50m investment by satellite service Hughes Network Systems.
OneWeb had received $3.4bn in total prior to its insolvency declaration, from shareholders including Bharti, Eutelsat, Hughes Network Systems, SoftBank’s Vision Fund, conglomerates Grupo Salinas and Virgin Group, beverage provider Coca-Cola, aerospace group Airbus and mobile semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm.
Image courtesy of OneWeb.
