Bharti Enterprises to invest Rs 313 cr in Eutelsat under fresh capital raise plan
New Delhi: Bharti Enterprise's space venture will invest €31.4 million (about Rs 313 crore) as part of French satellite group
Eutelsat
's fresh €1.35 billion (around Rs 11,250 crore) capital raising plan, aimed at paring debt and investing in satellite constellations.
The French government will invest €526.4 million in Eutelsat and become the largest shareholder with a 29.99% stake, displacing
Bharti Space
, which will now own 18.7% stake in Eutelsat, the world's second largest satcom group and a chief rival to Elon Musk-owned Starlink.
Other investors include shipping major CMA CGM with €100.4 million, with sovereign investor FSP putting in €57.8 million.
'I am delighted that under the leadership of President Macron, the French state has decided to back Eutelsat as the European Space Champion and increased its shareholding by injecting a sizeable investment into the company,' Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder & Chairman,
Bharti Enterprises
& Co-Chairman Eutelsat Group.
Post merger between Eutelsat and Bharti Enterprises and UK government backed-OneWeb in 2023, the Indian group became the largest shareholder in Eutelsat with a 21.2% share.
'We are also thrilled to welcome the French armed forces ministry, DGA, partnership with Eutelsat in a long term €1B contract to reserve capacity on Eutelsat's low-Earth orbit OneWeb constellation for its mission critical needs,' Mittal added.
Earlier this week, Eutelsat signed a 10-year agreement with France's Ministry of the Armed Forces under the Nexus program. The deal, worth up to €1 billion ( ?9,999 crore), aims to integrate military and civilian satellite resources and strengthen European capabilities in secure space communications.
The capital raise comes at a time of heightened activity in the satellite internet space, especially in India. Eutelsat OneWeb, a unit of the Eutelsat group, is poised to start commercial broadband-from-space service in India, having received all necessary statutory clearances, except for spectrum.
Operating more than 600 satellites since merging with British firm OneWeb in 2023, Eutelsat is the world's second-largest operator of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. But it remains far smaller than Starlink, which has 6,000 satellites.
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