Bharti will invest an additional $500 million into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb.
Post the investment, the total funding raised by OneWeb would amount to $2.4 billion.
The latest investment announcement comes as OneWeb prepares for its eighth launch on July 1, delivering the highly anticipated and strategically valuable Arctic region coverage down to 50-degree latitude.
“OneWeb, the global Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, has secured further fund-raising on the anniversary of the successful bid by the UK government and Bharti Global (Bharti) to purchase OneWeb from US Chapter 11 to bring its total funding to $2.4 billion,” said a statement.
The call option is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals. On completion of the call option and with Eutelsat’s $550 million investment, Bharti will hold 38.6 per cent, while the UK government, Eutelsat and Softbank will each own 19.3 per cent.
The final shareholding structure may alter to the extent a member of the shareholders’ group chooses to exercise a part of this call option.
On completion, OneWeb will have secured $2.4 billion of equity investment, with no issued debt.
OneWeb’s Executive Chairman, Sunil Bharti Mittal, said, “OneWeb represents a unique opportunity for investors at a key moment in the commercialisation of space.”
“With its Global ITU LEO Spectrum priority, telco partnerships, successful launch momentum and reliable satellites, OneWeb is ready to serve the vital needs of high-speed broadband connectivity for those who have been left behind,” he added.
Neil Masterson, CEO of OneWeb, said that the completion of the funding puts OneWeb in a “powerful” position.
“With the forthcoming launch we will have completed 40 per cent of our network. We are intently focused on execution and just ten more launches will enable us to deliver global coverage,” Masterson said.
