WASHINGTON – The British government and Indian mobile network operator Bharti Global submitted the winning bid to acquire OneWeb, a broadband mega-constellation startup that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March after running out of funds, OneWeb said on 3 of July.
OneWeb said it has secured $ 1 billion in new funds: $ 500 million from the British government to “deliver the UK’s first sovereign space capability,” and another $ 500 million from Indian mobile network operator Bharti Global, to recapitalize its effort. constellation.
OneWeb, in a press release, said the funding “will carry out the full end-to-end deployment of the OneWeb system,” but did not specify whether that system is the original constellation of 650 satellites that the company was looking for before the bankruptcy. OneWeb has 74 satellites in low Earth orbit.
“This deal underscores the scale of Britain’s ambitions on the world stage,” Alok Sharma, the British government’s business secretary, said in a separate July 3 statement from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. “Our access to a global satellite fleet has the potential to connect millions of people around the world to broadband, many for the first time, and the agreement presents the opportunity to further develop our strong advanced manufacturing base here at the United Kingdom”.
The British government will lead a consortium with Bharti to complete the purchase, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020, subject to approval by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Bharti is expected to provide commercial and operational leadership to OneWeb, plus revenue that leverages its base of more than 425 million customers.
“With differentiated and flexible technology, unique spectrum assets and a compelling market opportunity ahead of us, we are eager to complete the process and re-launch our satellites as soon as possible,” OneWeb CEO Adrian Steckel said in a statement of press.
OneWeb had raised $ 3.4 billion in equity and debt to finance its broadband constellation, but ran into financial difficulties after failing to convince SoftBank, its biggest backer, to invest additional capital. Arianespace had completed three of the 21 Soyuz launches planned for OneWeb before the startup’s bankruptcy proceedings.
The UK government said the ownership of OneWeb will allow the UK to “further develop its advanced manufacturing base”, an ambition that could result in the relocation of OneWeb satellite manufacturing to the UK.
Richard Franklin, managing director of Airbus Defense and Space UK, said the company is eager to work with OneWeb.
“The vision of the UK government in supporting this project will drive innovation and new ways of thinking about how space can further contribute to the UK economy and the country’s defense requirements, in addition to contributing to the delivery of Broadband Internet to communities across the country, “he said in a statement on July 3.” We look forward to supporting OneWeb in the next phase of its business and increasing the UK’s contribution to this market-changing business. “
Airbus spokesman Jeremy Close declined to comment on the possibility that OneWeb’s satellite manufacturing would now move to the United Kingdom from Florida. OneWeb Satellites, the OneWeb-Airbus joint venture responsible for building the OneWeb constellation, did not immediately respond to a Spacenews Ask about the number of satellites that will be produced for OneWeb from now on.
The UK government said that, as the owner of OneWeb, it will have “the last word on any future sale of the company and on future access to OneWeb technology by other countries for reasons of national security.”
