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Eutelsat – the Paris-based satellite operator – and the main shareholders of OneWeb (Bharti, the UK Government, Softbank and Hanwha) signed the final combination agreement on 14 November.
Under the terms of the deal Eutelsat and OneWeb are to combine with OneWeb shareholders holding 50% of Eutelsat. The UK government, which had a 19.3% share in OneWeb before the merger, will retain rights over procurement, the location of the HQ and vetoing of customers on grounds of national security.
The deal was initially announced in July, but the transaction remains subject to approval by the regulatory authorities and then by company shareholders.
The Eutelsat board writes:
“Upon completion of the transaction, the Board of Directors would be composed of 15 directors, including the Chairman and a Co-Chairman (Vice-Président): the current Chairman of Eutelsat (independent) who will be the Chairman of the future Board of Directors, the current Chief Executive Officer of Eutelsat, who will remain as such, two directors proposed by Bharti, including Sunil Bharti Mittal as Co-Chairman, one director proposed by Bpifrance Participations, one director proposed by the UK Government, one independent director representing Fonds Stratégique de Participations, one independent director proposed by Hanwha, three independent directors proposed by OneWeb and four independent directors proposed by the Board of Directors of Eutelsat, three of whom are to be selected from among the current directors of Eutelsat. This would bring the number of independent directors on the Board to 67%.”
Shareholders
It means the Extraordinary General Meeting of Eutelsat shareholders, which would be called to approve the transaction, is now expected to be held in the second or third quarter of 2023.
