(Reuters) – French satellite operator Eutelsat on Monday confirmed talks with its British rival OneWeb over a possible merger between the two companies.
“Eutelsat Communications confirms that it has entered into discussions with its OneWeb co-shareholders with a view to a possible merger of the two companies through a share swap,” the group, which is OneWeb’s second-largest shareholder with a 23% stake, said on Monday.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, Eutelsat and OneWeb shareholders will each own 50% of the combined group’s shares to create a global communications leader, Eutelsat said in a statement.
Around 07:34 GMT, the publication lost 11.3% on the Paris Stock Exchange.
OneWeb was valued at $3.4 billion (€3.33 billion) in its latest funding round, the source said.
(Report by Diana Mandia, edited by Kate Entringer)