- The investment is made through the EQT Infrastructure VI fund
- The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.
- Eutelsat is a satellite operator based in France
EQT has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire an 80 percent stake in the Eutelsat Group’s satellite ground station infrastructure business. The transaction values the new company at EUR 790 million.
The transaction will involve the spin-off of passive assets such as land, buildings, supporting infrastructure, antennas and interconnectors and the creation of a new company that will have a separate legal personality and be renamed after the transaction is completed. The headquarters will remain in France.
The Ground Station business is a global infrastructure platform with around 1,400 antennas in over 100 locations worldwide, enabling satellite communications for the Eutelsat Group, OneWeb and other third-party customers. It benefits from coverage of both geostationary and low-Earth orbit satellites, which are used for a variety of applications such as connectivity and broadcasting.
The investment will be made through the EQT Infrastructure VI fund, the company’s most recent fund in France. Previous investments include Trescal and Ocea Group.
“At EQT, we identified satellite ground stations as an attractive digital infrastructure vertical several years ago,” said Carl Sjölund, partner in EQT’s value-added infrastructure advisory team, in a statement. “They play an important role in ensuring global connectivity, especially for those not covered by fixed and mobile connectivity solutions, and require extensive global expertise in developing and operating telecom infrastructure companies.”
The continued deployment of satellites is expected to lead to strong demand for existing and new ground station infrastructure in the coming decade, according to a press release.
EQT will support the ground station business by investing in the modernization and construction of new sites, particularly for low Earth orbit antennas, and will also pursue inorganic growth opportunities in the huge and fragmented global ground station market, the press release said.
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory conditions and approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.
The Eutelsat Group remains a long-term shareholder, main tenant and partner of the new company with a 20 percent stake.
EQT is a global investment firm with total assets under management of EUR 246 billion.
Eutelsat is a satellite operator based in France.
EQT was advised by Rothschild (M&A), BCG (trading, IT and carve-out), A&O Shearman (M&A advisory), Paul Weiss (financing advisory), KPMG (finance and tax) and NovaSpace (technology).
