France’s Eutelsat Invests $550 Million in Musk Satellite Rival OneWeb
Photographer: Yuri Smityuk/TASS/Getty Images
This article is for subscribers only.
Eutelsat Communications SA will pay $550 million in cash for a 24% stake in low-earth orbit satellite startup OneWeb, it said Tuesday.
The Paris-based operator’s investment will be funded by proceeds from selling airwaves to U.S. phone operators, Eutelsat said in a statement. It will gain seats on OneWeb’s board, and the transaction will dilute the stakes of its other major shareholders, the British government, Indian telecom group Bharti Global, and SoftBank Corp. Britain retains a golden share giving it veto powers on deals.