As Luxembourg is seeking to position itself as a major actor in the space sector and competition intensifies, any deal between SES and Intelsat would help them be more competitive. Notably in a space market dominated by Starlink – satellite-internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX – this potential fusion could give it a hard time.
“At this stage, there can be no certainty that a transaction would materialise” – SES
It is to note that both companies have already recognized that there was a wave of fusions within the space industry sector. For instance, Viasat and Eutalsat are working towards acquiring Immarsat and OneWeb respectively, so as to bolster their businesses and eventually vie with Starlink.
Since Viasat disclosed its deal for Inmarsat in November 2021, SES and Intelsat have discussed whether they could follow these steps in order to uphold competition.
Negotiations are still on…
Both SES and Intelsat declined to comment further on the SES’ statement. If both companies reach an agreement, the latter will require the Luxembourgish government’s approval – being the main SES’ shareholder.
