Eutelsat Communications (OTC:EUTLF) confirmed it is talks with its co-shareholders in OneWeb, a satellite operator partly owned by the British Government, regarding a potential all-share merger.
The French satellite company released a statement after Reuters reported at the weekend that a deal for OneWeb, a provider of broadband services from low-orbit satellites, could be announced as early as today.
The UK owns almost 20% of OneWeb after investing £416mln to bail out the world’s second-biggest satellite operator at the peak of the Covid 19 pandemic in July 2020.
The combined company would value the UK taxpayer’s stake at around £500mln, the Guardian reported.
Eutelsat has a 23% stake in OneWeb and is the second-largest shareholder in the company after Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal.
OneWeb was valued at about US$3.4bn in its latest funding round.
The combined entity is expected to launch shares on the London Stock Exchange in a secondary listing in the near future, the Guardian reported.