[ad_1]
A company aircraft tests a new satellite communications antenna for onboard Wi-Fi.
Intelsat
US satellite communications giant Intelsat withdrew on Wednesday from merger discussions with Luxembourg-based competitor SES, US channel CNBC confirmed.
Intelsat ended discussions after disagreements emerged with SES over business priorities, a person familiar with the situation told CNBC. It also wasn’t clear whether the merger would create more value than continuing Intelsat on its own, the person said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss non-public matters.
The merger would have created a combined American and European company valued at more than $10 billion, as previously reported.
Both companies are under increasing pressure from the shift in the satellite communications market from broadcast video to data services, which has led to a wave of consolidation in the sector. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been disrupting the market, growing its Starlink business to more than 1.5 million customers in the less than three years since the service debuted.
An Intelsat spokesperson declined CNBC’s request for comment, saying the company “engages in strategic conversations with potential partners on a regular basis” but does not discuss “the content or outcome of those discussions.”
Subscribe here to receive weekly issues of the CNBC Investing in Space newsletter.
SES did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. bloomberg I first reported that the talks had ended.
The breakdown in merger talks comes shortly after SES announced that CEO Steve Collor would step down at the end of this month. The move came as a surprise to the aerospace industry, as Collar’s career at SES spans more than 20 years.
[ad_2]
