The British government will inject 163 million euros into the European operator Eutelsat, competitor of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites, to invest alongside the French state, we learned from the Elysée on Thursday during a state visit to Emmanuel Macron in the United Kingdom.
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“Like France, the United Kingdom considers Eutelsat as a strategic player in spatial connectivity and wishes to consolidate the country’s satellite sovereignty by supporting a business whose commercial potential has been multiplied by the geopolitical context and the need for independence of states”, according to the presidency, which confirms information of “echoes”.
Second world operator of satellites in low orbit, which make it possible to operate telecommunications services, Eutelsat is often presented as a European alternative to Starlink, from the American company SpaceX, property of Elon Musk.
Eutelsat announced on June 19 a capital increase of 1.35 billion euros which will see the French state become the first shareholder of the group and which should in particular allow the renewal of its satellite fleet.
The state, already a shareholder up to 13 %, will thus increase its participation by 717 million euros, said the cabinet of the Minister of the Economy Éric Lombard.
This will lead him to hold 29% of the company’s shares, via the State Participation Agency (APE), at the end of this operation which should lead “by the end of 2025”, according to Eutelsat.
London’s investment announced on Thursday is in proportion to the UK’s current participation in capital, from 10.9 %.
“Thank you to our British friends for fully committing with us in the rest of the Eutelsat adventure. Together we go further! ” reacted Emmanuel Macron on X.
He had hammered last month, at the Bourget aeronautics fair, that the rise of the French state to the capital of the satellite operator is an “issue of sovereignty”.
With a constellation of more than 600 satellites since its merger with the British Oneweb in 2023, the group seeks to develop the contracts segment with new state customers.
Three other shareholders of the group, the French shipowner CMA-CGM, the Indian operator Bharti Airtel as well as the Strategic Participation Fund (FSP) held by seven French insurers, are also involved in this capital increase which will take place in two phases, with a reserved increase in capital and a preferential subscription right, open to other shareholders.
