SES pulls off Intelsat buy to create European satellite giant
SES is to buy competitor Intelsat in a €2.8bn deal that was abandoned last year.
The €2.8bn cash deal will create a global satellite giant based in Europe with over 100 geostationary and 26 MEO satellites. The combined SES will benefit from enhanced coverage, greater network resiliency, complementary spectrum rights in the C-, Ku-, Ka-, Military Ka-, X-band, and Ultra High Frequency bands and improved service delivery through an expanded network of ground segment assets.
This is needed to take on the growing low earth orbit satellite constellations from SpaceX, OneWeb and Amazon’s Project Kuiper as well as the proposed merger of Inmarsat and Viasat.
By end-2026, eight new GEO units, including six software-defined satellites and seven new O3b mPOWER MEO satellites are expected to be launched to add further redundancy and additional growth capacity.
In particular the deal boosts the Government, Mobility, and Fixed Data segments with expanding customer demand for reliable, high-performance connectivity anywhere on land, at sea, or in the air will represent around 60% of SES’s total expanded revenue of €3.8bn and a pipeline of €9bn.
“The acquisition of Intelsat by SES marks a significant milestone in the satellite communications industry. Bringing together two legacy giants from Europe and the US, both companies are focused on driving efficiencies and maximising their investments in both Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. However, based on the operating efficiencies gained, there’s potential for deploying Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites in the future to meet high-bandwidth and low-latency connectivity demands when required,” said – Christof Kern, Business Development Lead – Satellite & Space at TTP in Cambridge, UK.
“With confidence in the competitiveness of these satellites, when compared to Starlink’s LEO constellation, the combined entity will be able to offer wider coverage of the Earth’s surface at a more affordable cost, albeit at higher latency.
“The combined entity is poised to be the world’s largest satellite company in terms of revenue, and could dominate the market, leveraging its extensive resources and expertise to shape the future of satellite communications and deliver on new use cases,” he said.
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“This important, transformational agreement strengthens our business, enhances our ability to deliver world-class customer solutions, and generates significant value for our shareholders in a value accretive acquisition which is underpinned by sizeable and readily executable synergies,” said Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES.
“In a fast-moving and competitive satellite communication industry, this transaction expands our multi-orbit space network, spectrum portfolio, ground infrastructure around the world, go-to-market capabilities, managed service solutions, and financial profile.”
“Over the past two years, the Intelsat team has executed a remarkable strategic reset. We have reversed a 10-year negative trend to return to growth, established a new and game-changing technology roadmap, and focused on productivity and execution to deliver competitive capabilities. This strategic pivot sets the foundation for Intelsat’s next chapter,” said David Wajsgras, CEO of Intelsat.
The Mobility business with Intelsat’s commercial aviation division will serve nearly 3,000 connected aircraft, and SES’s maritime business covers five major cruise line operators via fully managed, multi-orbit connectivity agreements.
In Media, the deal brings together complementary capabilities for customers including pay-TV operators, free-to-air/free-to-view platforms, public and private broadcasters, and sports & events brands.
The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies and Intelsat shareholders holding approximately 73% of the common shares have entered into customary support agreements requiring them to vote in favour of the transaction.
The deal is subject to relevant regulatory clearances/filings and customary provisions concerning cooperation and measures in seeking such regulatory clearances which are expected to be received during the second half of 2025.
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