A&O Shearman advises EQT on exclusive negotiations to acquire a majority stake in Eutelsat Group’s satellite ground station infrastructure business

EQT would own 80% of the capital of the proposed new company. Eutelsat Group would remain anchor tenant and partner with a 20% holding. The contemplated transaction values the new entity at an enterprise value of EUR790 million.

The new entity would be the world’s largest pure-play, operator-neutral, ground station- as-a-service company. The ground station business consists of approximately 1,400 antennas across more than 100 locations globally, enabling satellite communications for Eutelsat Group, OneWeb, and other third-party customers.

On completion of the transaction, Eutelsat would enter into a long-term framework master service agreement (MSA) with the ground station business and become the anchor tenant.

The A&O Shearman team was led by Tom Levine, partner, London and Romy Richter, partner, Paris, together with Julie Parent (senior associate, Paris) and Joyce Xu (senior associate, London).

Tom Levine said: “With the seller headquartered in Paris and specialized space sector assets located around the world, this transaction was a perfect opportunity to combine our leading financial sponsor M&A practice in Paris with our globally recognized digital infrastructure practice in London. We are delighted to have the opportunity to work again with EQT, especially on a groundbreaking transaction in the satellite and space sector.”