South Korea's Hanwha offloads its Eutelsat stake

South Korea's Hanwha Systems said yesterday it was selling its entire 5.4% stake in Eutelsat for about €78 million ($85 million), as the Franco-British satellite operator seeks new investors.

- GIANLUCA LO NOSTRO

Eutelsat has garnered unprecedented attention this year from governments looking for home-grown alternatives to SpaceX’s Starlink for satellite internet connectivity.

The company is working on a new financing plan to fund the second generation of its low Earth orbit OneWeb satellites and to fulfil commitments to the European Union’s IRIS² project.

It has piled up hundreds of millions of euros in losses, particularly from its waning video business, while its 2023 acquisition of OneWeb has yet to yield the results it had hoped for due to competition and delayed deployment of technology.

Finance chief Christophe Caudrelier said in May that Eutelsat was looking for capital investors.