Bharti Space Ltd., the satellite and space-tech arm of Bharti Enterprises, is deepening its commitment to the global satellite communications sector by investing an additional €120 million (approximately ₹1,204 crore) in French satellite operator Eutelsat.

This brings Bharti Space’s total investment in Eutelsat’s ongoing fundraising round to €150 million, following an earlier injection of €30 million in June through a reserved capital increase. The investment is part of Eutelsat’s expanded €1.5 billion (over ₹15,000 crore) capital raise, which was increased from the initially announced €1.35 billion to strengthen Eutelsat’s global position in satellite communications.

Despite this fresh infusion, Bharti Space’s stake in Eutelsat will decrease from 24.09% to 17.88% due to the dilution effect of the larger capital raise. The French government will become Eutelsat’s largest shareholder, investing €750 million—€550.7 million via preferential allotment and €199.3 million through the rights issue—resulting in a 29.65% stake. The UK government is also participating, committing €163 million (split between €90.1 million via the reserved issue and €73.2 million through the rights offering) to secure a 10.89% stake. Other significant investors include French shipping conglomerate CMA CGM (7.46%) and sovereign investor FSP (4.99%).

The capital raised will be used by Eutelsat to refinance debt, accelerate the deployment of new satellite constellations (notably the IRIS² project), and reinforce its financial flexibility and technological leadership. Eutelsat, following its 2023 merger with OneWeb—a UK government-backed satellite startup that Bharti helped rescue from bankruptcy in 2020—now operates as Eutelsat OneWeb, combining OneWeb’s constellation of over 600 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites with Eutelsat’s legacy geostationary operations. This positions Eutelsat as the world’s second-largest satellite operator after SpaceX’s Starlink.

For Bharti, its stake in Eutelsat is a strategic pillar in its ambition to deliver satellite-based broadband services in India. Eutelsat OneWeb is among the three companies to have received India’s Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence, alongside Jio Platforms-backed SES and Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The company has obtained all necessary regulatory clearances except for spectrum allocation, with commercial rollout in India expected once the government finalizes spectrum norms.

The Indian satellite communications market is rapidly intensifying, with Starlink (now operating over 6,000 satellites) recently securing final regulatory clearance and a key licence from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to operate in India.

Jio Platforms has partnered with Luxembourg-based SES for satellite broadband, while Vodafone Idea is exploring direct-to-device satellite services through a tie-up with AST SpaceMobile. Other global players such as Amazon Kuiper and Globalstar have also filed for licences, signalling fierce competition in the sector.

Eutelsat’s expanded capital raise, backed by major government and private investors, is expected to close by the end of 2025, marking a significant step in the ongoing transformation and consolidation of the global and Indian satellite communications landscape.

Agencies