Steve Collar, CEO at SES, speaking at the Satellite Innovation conference in Mountain View, California, told delegates that consolidation in the industry was more likely than ever. But that the structure of the industry could hinder any such deals. He stressed that the industry was in a really good place, adding that innovation was greater […]
Patrick Drahi might not have William Shatner in his portfolio of headline-grabbing assets, and rich as he is, Drahi certainly cannot compete with the likes of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos in terms of cash-at-hand. But few will be surprised if Drahi doesn’t now come up with a Plan B to acquire Eutelsat. Certainly his […]
The bid for Eutelsat by businessman Patrick Drahi, rejected by the satellite company, might well trigger other bidders to enter the picture. Sami Kassab, equity analyst at investment bank Exane/BNPP, poses some interesting suggestions as to potential rival bidders to Drahi. Kassab argues that the key to anyone’s success in the validation of the bid […]
SES and Sirius TV are working to beam DTH channels to Smart Digital International, the Malaysian DTH operator. The broadcaster has signed a multi-year contract with SES to deliver a new bouquet of satellite TV channels across Malaysia. Terms were not revealed. The Sirius Basic subscription package launched on October 1st with 13 initial channels, […]
Eutelsat shareholders had a prosperous day on September 30th when the company’s share price rose dramatically by an initial 15.6 per cent (to €11.97), just below Patrick Drahi’s reported €12 bid. Eutelsat confirmed receipt of the bid, and rejected the approach. This suggests either Drahi doesn’t have the backing of state-backed BPI or else – […]
Judge Keith Phillips, presiding over Intelsat’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reconstruction, has rejected the call for an independent examiner to be brought in. The request was made by a small group of equity shareholders to investigate claims of potential mismanagement and other ways to bring in more money for creditors that they say the company has […]
SoftBank, a telecom carrier in Japan, has partnered with SES for the aggregation and delivery of live sporting events to its corporate customers, such as TV stations and video distribution companies. Under the new agreement, SES, via its global infrastructure of multi-orbit satellite fleets and fibre network, will aggregate content and deliver it directly to […]
SES says that three Chinese channels from China Global TV Network will switch to HD transmissions at the end of the year. The channels will continue broadcasting in standard definition until then. The new HD transmissions will be from the SES prime European orbital position of 19.2 degrees east. The expansion comes about because of […]
Investment bank Berenberg has issued two timely reports on Europe’s pair of major satellite operators ahead of their results. The analysis was good news for Luxembourg-based SES but less rosy for Paris-based Eutelsat. For SES the overwhelming positive news was the operator’s share of the FCC’s ‘incentive’ payments for freeing up C-band frequencies over the […]
It’s always lively at Intelsat’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy court. On September 24th, for example, there were 17 separate filings laid before the court. However, a key problem could be partially resolved on September 29th, when Intelsat’s bankruptcy court will be asked to appoint an external examiner to investigate the potential claims against Intelsat and the […]