TAMPA, Fla. — France would more than double its stake in Eutelsat to nearly 30% as part of a $1.56 billion capital raise backed by multiple shareholders, bolstering the French operator’s plans to refresh its OneWeb constellation amid Starlink’s growing dominance.
The funds would be raised in two parts before the end of the year, Eutelsat announced June 19, a day after the French military agreed to buy OneWeb services over 10 years in a deal potentially worth up to one billion euros ($1.15 billion).
An initial 716 million euros would come from a capital raise priced at 4 euros per share, a 32% premium to the average price over the past 30 days. This tranche would be open only to a core group of shareholders: the French government, shipping giant CMA CGM, Indian telco Bharti Airtel and the FSP investment fund owned by seven France-based insurance firms.
These anchor shareholders would then take part in a subsequent 634 million euro rights issue open to all existing investors.
Eutelsat said the extra capital would help reduce its debt, positioning the company to take out loans on more favorable terms, such as financing backed by export credit agencies.
Preparing for the next chapter
Eutelsat operates over 30 geostationary spacecraft and more than 650 OneWeb broadband satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).
However, the operator said delays in ground infrastructure and regulatory approvals could push the start of fully global LEO services to the end of 2026.
Most OneWeb satellites were launched between 2020 and 2023, giving the constellation an expected design life running through 2027–2028.
Meanwhile, Eutelsat said secure and resilient multi-orbit connectivity is becoming an increasingly strategic priority, as Starlink — the only other fully operational LEO broadband network — has already deployed more than 7,800 satellites and continues to rapidly expand.
Eutelsat plans to invest up to 2.2 billion euros for the 440 satellites needed to sustain the OneWeb constellation over the coming years.
The company has already ordered 100 of these from Europe’s Airbus, slated to begin launching toward the end of 2026.
In addition, Eutelsat has committed about 2 billion euros for its share of IRIS², Europe’s public-private sovereign broadband constellation slated to come online around the end of the decade.
“The French State is proud to contribute to strengthening Eutelsat’s capital structure and support the company at pivotal stage of its development,” said Eric Lombard, French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty.
“This transaction reflects our strong commitment towards a major player in satellite connectivity — a strategic sector at the heart of Europe’s digital sovereignty — while fostering remarkable potential for technological innovation and sustainable economic growth.”
Agence des participations de l’État (APE), the French agency that manages France’s investments in strategically important companies, would take over state-owned investment bank Bpifrance’s 13.6% stake in Eutelsat prior to shareholder approval for the capital increase.
Following the two-part capital raise, Eutelsat said APE would have a 29.99% stake, while Bharti, CMA CGM and FSP would hold 18.7%, 7.81% and 5.22%, respectively.
France would contribute about 717 million euros in total, more than half of the 1.35 billion euro capital increase.
Eutelsat said discussions are ongoing with other interested investors, including the British government, which teamed up with Bharti to rescue OneWeb from bankruptcy before its 2023 sale to Eutelsat.
