Satellite company SES confirmed media speculation that it is in talks to merge with rival Intelsat, a move that would form a US$10 billion satellite company to rival Starlink and Project Kuiper.
In a brief statement, SES stated: “In response to rumours in the market, SES S.A. confirms that the company has engaged in discussions regarding a possible combination with Intelsat. At this stage, there can be no certainty that a transaction would materialise. The Board of SES remains fully committed to acting in the best interest of SES and its shareholders.”
A Bloomberg reported the satellite companies were close to a deal valued at US$10 billion including debt. Sources said the two are looking to hammer out a deal over the next few weeks.
Consolidation between the satellite firms would form an entity to challenge giants in the field, Space X-owned Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper.
A similar move was made by French satellite company Eutelsat which is acquiring UK-based OneWeb, with the deal to be wrapped up in Q2 or Q3 this year.
SES has 70 satellites in orbit, and Intelsat possesses 56.
