Eutelsat rides French government support to 22% gains as Starlink rival gets $1.56 billion boost

France backed a $1.56 billion capital raise to support Eutelsat, a Starlink rival, with debt refinancing and investment in its existing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) capabilities. Eutelsat’s stock rallied by 29% at 12.25 p.m. CEST. The French government will now become the largest shareholder in Eutelsat, with a 29.99% stake and voting rights.

Eutelsat merged with British firm OneWeb in 2023, becoming the third-largest operator of LEO satellites behind Starlink in revenue. The company has deployed more than 600 satellites since the merger.

The debt-laden company has received much attention from European governments following the need for an alternative to the U.S. satellite company Starlink. The announcement came after the French military agreed on Wednesday to a 10-year deal to buy satellite communication services from OneWeb in a deal close to $1.15 billion. 

Eutelsat stock rallies by 29% today

The French satellite company’s stock has been significantly volatile this year. It experienced a massive spike in March on expectations that it would replace Elon Musk’s Starlink in Ukraine. At 12.25 pm CEST, the stock was trading at 3.650 EUR, up 29%. The stock is currently up 69% year to date (YTD).

The funding will be raised in two parts: an initial 716 million euros, priced at 4 euros per share, a 32% premium to the average price over the past 30 days. The funding model would be open only to a specific group of shareholders, including the French government, shipping giant CMA CGM, Indian telco Bharti Airtel, and the FSP investment fund owned by seven French-based insurance firms.

The core shareholders will then participate in a subsequent 634 million euros rights issue open to all the existing shareholders.

Following the two-part funding model, the French government would be the biggest shareholder with a 29.99% stake, while Bharti, CMA CGM, and FSP would hold 18.7%, 7.81%, and 5.22%, respectively. France would contribute close to 717 million euros, more than half of the capital raised. 

Eutelsat revealed ongoing discussions with other interested investors, including the British government, that teamed up with Bharti to help rescue OneWeb from bankruptcy before its merger with Eutelsat in 2023.

Erick Lombard, French Minister for the Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, said that the French state is proud to contribute to strengthening Eutelsat’s capital structure and support the company at a pivotal stage of its development.

Eutelsat prepares itself to be the European LEO satellite giant  

Eutelsat operates over 30 geostationary spacecraft, with over 650 OneWeb broadband satellites in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). However, the company may face delays in ground infrastructure and regulatory approvals, which could push the start of fully global LEO services to 2026. OneWeb satellites were primarily launched between 2020 and 2023, giving the constellation an expected design life running through 2027-2028.

According to Eutelsat, secure and resilient multi-orbit connectivity is becoming an increasingly strategic priority, as Starlink, the only other operational LEO broadband network, has already deployed more than 7800 satellites and continues to expand.

The European satellite company plans to invest up to 2.2 billion euros for the 440 satellites expected to sustain the OneWeb constellation in the future. It had already ordered 100 space-grade solar panels from Europe’s Airbus, which are expected to begin launching at the end of 2026.

According to Eutelsat, OneWeb would lift the group’s annual sales to $2 billion by 2027. OneWeb expects its second generation of LEO satellites to be launched by the end of the decade. 

Finance Minister Lombard revealed that the government’s investment was strategic in supporting a decisive stage in its development. According to Lombard, satellite connectivity is a strategic issue for France’s industrial and digital sovereignty.

Emmanuel Macron‘s office said the race is on, so they must take a position now and invest. Otherwise, the whole market will be occupied, and France and Europe will be left to depend on other powers in the future.

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