Bharti Enterprises’ Space Arm To Invest INR 313 Cr In Eutelsat

Bharti Enterprises’ space arm, Bharti Space Limited, will invest €31.4 Mn (nearly INR 313 Cr) in French satellite group Eutelsat. 

The infusion is part of Eutelsat’s larger €1.35 Bn (around INR 11,250 Cr) rights issue, which will also see participation from shipping company CMA CGM and French investment fund Fonds Strategique de Participations (FSP). The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. 

“The reserved capital increase would be subscribed by the French State via APE for €526.4 Mn, Bharti Space Limited for €31.4 Mn, CMA CGM for €100.4 Mn, and FSP for €57.8 Mn,” said Eutelsat in a press release.

The funds will be utilised by Eutelsat to repay debt and invest in satellite constellations.

With this, the French government will become the largest shareholder in the satellite communications (satcom) company with a 29.99% stake, displacing Bharti Space that will now own 18.7% stake in Eutelsat.

It is pertinent to note that Eutelsat is central to Bharti Enterprises’ satcom ambitions in India.

Bharti Enterprises became the largest shareholder in Eutelsat with a 21.2% share after the merger of Eutelsat with Bharti Enterprises and UK government-backed OneWeb in 2023. The combined entity was renamed as Eutelsat OneWeb.

Leveraging Eutelsat OneWeb’s satellite constellation, Bharti Enterprises plans to roll out satcom services in the country. The satcom company operates more than 600 satellites and the world’s second-largest constellation of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Its bigger rival Starlink has 6,000 satellites in its kitty. 

However, the conglomerate’s telecom arm Airtel, earlier this year, signed a pact with Elon Musk-led SpaceX to provide Starlink’s satellite-based internet services to its customers in India.

Nevertheless, the fundraise comes amid heightened competition in the homegrown satcom space. In May, Starlink was granted a letter of intent by the telecom department (DoT) to operate satellite-based internet services in India, followed by another key licence from the telecom ministry. 

Meanwhile, Reliance-backed Jio Platforms has tied up with Luxembourg-based SES to offer satcom services in the country. So far, only Eutelsat OneWeb, Jio SES and Starlink have received the much sought after Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence from DoT.

Then, there are giants like Amazon Kuiper and Apple vendor Globalstar which have also filed applications to acquire satcom licences in the country. Joining the bandwagon, Vodafone Idea (Vi), earlier this week, announced a partnership with US-based AST SpaceMobile to launch direct-to-device satcom services in the country. 

Meanwhile, on the regulatory front, the Centre is targeting the “fastest rollout” of the satcom network in the world. As part of this, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has forwarded its recommendations on norms for satcom spectrum. The Union government is said to be vetting the policy, and plans to roll out the norms in this regard soon.