Bharti Space to invest ₹1,204 cr in France's Eutelsat as part of €1.5 billion fundraise
Mumbai: Bharti Space Ltd, the satellite arm of Bharti Enterprises, will invest an additional €120 million (approximately ₹1,204 crore) in French satellite operator Eutelsat Communications S.A. through a rights issue, as part of the company’s expanded €1.5 billion (over ₹15,000 crore) capital raising round, Live Mint reported on Thursday.
This investment comes on top of Bharti’s earlier commitment of €30 million (₹300 crore) via a reserve capital increase. Bharti Space currently holds a 24.09% stake in the Eutelsat Group.
On 19 June, Eutelsat announced a capital raise of €1.35 billion (around ₹11,250 crore), comprising €716 million (₹6,865 crore) from a reserve capital increase and a €634 million (₹6,330 crore) rights issue.
In its Thursday update, the company revised the total round size to €1.5 billion, following the UK government’s decision to participate.
The updated round now includes €828 million (around ₹8,304 crore) via the reserve capital route and €672 million (around ₹6,739 crore) through the rights issue. Eutelsat aims to complete the fundraising by the end of this year.
The UK government, which holds a 10.9% stake in Eutelsat, has pledged a total investment of €163.3 million (around ₹1,638 crore).
Eutelsat plans to use the proceeds to reduce its debt and increase investments in satellite constellations, as part of its strategy to strengthen its position in the global space communications industry, it said in its 19 June announcement.
“Today, governments require secure and reliable sovereign connectivity solutions, and Eutelsat is uniquely positioned to meet this need. Eutelsat’s OneWeb was the first complete low-earth orbit constellation, and the company is the first and only provider able to provide customers with access to both low-earth orbit and geostationary orbit services,” said Sunil Bharti Mittal, co-chairman of Eutelsat Group, in Thursday’s statement.
“This new capital injection will allow Eutelsat to go further and faster in developing innovative new technologies and services under the leadership of its new chief executive, Jean-François Fallacher,” Mittal added.
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