{"id":19054,"date":"2017-02-28T17:05:59","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T09:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/softbank-puts-1-7b-into-intelsat-merger-with-oneweb-satellite-internet-venture\/"},"modified":"2017-02-28T17:05:59","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T09:05:59","slug":"softbank-puts-1-7b-into-intelsat-merger-with-oneweb-satellite-internet-venture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/softbank-puts-1-7b-into-intelsat-merger-with-oneweb-satellite-internet-venture\/","title":{"rendered":"SoftBank puts $1.7B into Intelsat merger with OneWeb satellite internet venture"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_313757\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-313757\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-313757\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/170228-oneweb-satellite-2-630x412.jpg\" alt=\"OneWeb satellite\" width=\"630\" height=\"412\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/170228-oneweb-satellite-2-630x412.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/170228-oneweb-satellite-2.jpg 755w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-313757\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s conception shows a OneWeb satellite in orbit. (OneWeb Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Intelsat and OneWeb today laid out plans for a mega-merger aimed at bolstering their satellite internet services, with a $1.7 billion investment boost from SoftBank.<\/p>\n<p>The arrangement is a head-turner, due to the complicated conditions of the deal as well as its ambitious objective. It comes just a couple of months&nbsp;after Japan-based SoftBank announced a $1 billion investment in OneWeb, which is gearing up to launch a constellation of satellites for global internet access.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe believe that combining Intelsat with OneWeb will create an industry leader unique in its ability to provide affordable broadband anywhere in the world,\u201d Intelsat CEO Stephen Spengler said in a news release.<\/p>\n<p>Spengler is due to head the combined company, which will keep the Intelsat name and remain headquartered in Luxembourg. OneWeb\u2019s founder and executive chairman, Greg Wyler, will be executive chairman of the combined company\u2019s board.<\/p>\n<p>SoftBank will purchase&nbsp;common shares&nbsp;in the company&nbsp;for $5 per share, and take a 39.9 percent voting stake. The $1.7 billion investment and a series of debt exchange offers are aimed at reducing Intelsat\u2019s debt by up to $3.6 billion.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"OneWeb's Mission To Bring Satellite Internet Coverage Worldwide | CNBC\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wdjY03tOsyU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The merger and SoftBank\u2019s investment arrangement are subject to shareholder approval. Intelsat said it expected the transaction to close late in the third quarter of 2017. The company\u2019s share price dropped roughly 10 percent&nbsp;this morning, trading in a range between $4.93 and $5.63.<\/p>\n<p>Intelsat, a global pioneer in satellite communications, was an early investor in OneWeb\u2019s plan to put hundreds of small satellites into low Earth orbit to transmit and receive broadband data. Other investors include SoftBank as well as Airbus, Qualcomm, Virgin and Coca-Cola.<\/p>\n<p>SoftBank\u2019s investment made a splash in December because it counted toward a pledge that the company\u2019s chairman and CEO, Masayoshi Son, made to then-President-elect Donald Trump to put&nbsp;$50 billion into U.S. companies.<\/p>\n<p>Airbus is taking the lead role in designing OneWeb\u2019s 330-pound satellites, while Arianespace and Virgin Galactic are on board to launch them starting next year. Wyler said the merger and SoftBank\u2019s support should accelerate OneWeb\u2019s mission of \u201cbridging the digital divide by connecting the 4 billion people without access today.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_297749\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-297749\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-297749\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/161219-exploration-oneweb-630x354.jpg\" alt=\"OneWeb facility in Florida\" width=\"630\" height=\"354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/161219-exploration-oneweb-630x354.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/161219-exploration-oneweb-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/161219-exploration-oneweb-1240x698.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/161219-exploration-oneweb.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-297749\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s conception shows OneWeb\u2019s production facility in Exploration Park, Fla. (Graphic via Business Wire)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>OneWeb isn\u2019t the only venture targeting underserved internet markets. SpaceX is moving ahead with plans to put more than 4,000 satellites into orbit to provide broadband access, and recently expanded its Seattle-area operations to ramp up the effort.<\/p>\n<p>The Boeing Co. also has floated plans for a global satellite network.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s another Seattle-area angle to SoftBank\u2019s investment: Son\u2019s company holds a majority stake in Sprint, and he previously sought unsuccessfully to merge the Kansas-based telecom provider with T-Mobile, which is based in Bellevue, Wash.<\/p>\n<p>In the wake of Son\u2019s pledge to amp up SoftBank\u2019s U.S. investment, Reuters reported that SoftBank may pursue a new strategy to bring about a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear how far that strategy can go, at least in the near term. T-Mobile CEO John Legere told CNBC that he was \u201chumored by this conversation that\u2019s going on. \u2026 Nobody\u2019s talking to anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Today, Son said that the Intelsat-OneWeb deal was just one piece of his plan to capitalize on a \u201ctechnological revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis combination is consistent with SoftBank\u2019s strategy of investing in disruptive, foundational technologies that are building the infrastructure for tomorrow,\u201d Son said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An artist\u2019s conception shows a OneWeb satellite in orbit. (OneWeb Illustration) Intelsat and OneWeb today laid out plans for a mega-merger aimed at bolstering their satellite internet services, with a $1.7 billion investment boost from SoftBank. The arrangement is a head-turner, due to the complicated conditions of the deal as well as its ambitious objective. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[252,1255,4791,1277,20,4951],"class_list":["post-19054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-broadband","tag-intelsat","tag-internet-access","tag-oneweb","tag-satellite","tag-softbank"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19054"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19054\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}