Market reacts to fresh Eutelsat capital June 21, 2025 Eutelsat, as expected, will raise €1.35 billion in fresh capital over the next few months. French daily Le Monde summed up the move with its headline, saying: “The French government is stepping in to rescue Eutelsat”. At the end of the cash restructuring process France will hold 29.9 per cent of the operator’s capital, and just a fraction below the level where it would be obliged to mount a mandatory takeover bid. French president Emmanuel Macron visited the Paris Air Show on June 20th and made a point of urging countries and companies as a matter of European sovereignty to invest in Eutelsat. Macron called for more investment as the European space industry struggles to remain competitive in the face of US and Chinese rivals. “SpaceX has disrupted the market, Amazon is also getting involved. China is not far behind, and I think we all need to be very clear-headed,” Macron said. It is not yet clear whether the UK will up its existing 10.9 per cent holding in Eutelsat. France and Britain are holding talks over the British government’s possible participation in Eutelsat’s rights issue, a source close to the matter said. Nevertheless, investors in Eutelsat’s free float of shares welcomed the news. Eutelsat’s share price rose 27.5 per cent from €2.79 per share to €3.71 at the end of June 20th, and at one point reached 3.87. But there are doubts. Investment bank JP Morgan said they struggled to see the ‘restructuring’ as sufficient to support “what we would consider to be a truly competitive Low Earth orbit strategy.” BNP/Paribas analyst Sami Kassab confirmed that the capital increase came as no surprise, although it was less than they had expected, noting: “With 53 per cent of the total capital raise reserved at a rate of €4 per share and assuming the current share price for the 47 per cent right issue suggest the total number of shares will increase by 84 per cent from 475 million to 872 million”. BNP/Paribas summed up the risks, adding: “Lower than expected operating trends at OneWeb, Video or the GEO connectivity segment at a time of higher investment requirements in the OneWeb expansion and IRIS² could put more pressure on the group’s balance sheet. Fiercer competition with other LEO constellations could dampen future growth prospects.” As to Eutelsat’s share price on June 20th, the price moved favourably, opening at €3.08 and closing at €3.71. Other posts by