PARIS (Reuters) – The French State will become the first shareholder of the Eutelsat satellite group by subscribing to more than half of a capital increase of 1.35 billion euros announced by the Company, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday.

The Agency for State Participations (APE) will inject 717 million euros into the company and the state share in Eutelsat will amount to 29.99% of the capital at the end of the operation, Bercy said in a press release.

In search of investors to finance the second generation of its OneWeb satellites in Low Orbit (LEO) and to fulfill its commitments within the framework of the IRIS project of the European Union, Eutelsat has this year awarded unprecedented attention from governments, which are looking for alternatives to the Starlink of SpaceX for Internet connectivity by satellite.

“This operation, which will participate in the main reference shareholders of the company (Bharti Space, CMA CGM and the strategic participation fund) will ensure the development of Eutelsat in the field of Constellations Leo, a strategic segment for the telecommunications of tomorrow and whose market is experiencing a strong development,” said the Ministry of Finance.

“It strengthens the flexibility of the group by accelerating its deset” and “secures the growth of turnover in the medium term,” he added.

“Through this operation, France affirms its determination to build, with the company and its European partners, a space, competitive, resilient and sovereign sector,” said the Minister of Economy Eric Lombard in the press release.

(Mathieu Rosemain report; Diana Mandiá and Jean-Stéphane Brosse, edited by Sophie Louet and Benjamin Mallet)

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