Satellite companies hunt for cash

Satellite companies Telesat, Ligado, Lynk Global and Rivada Space Networks are working to raise the funds necessary to realize their ambitions. But in the meantime, they’re stuck making promises they may not be able to fund.

The satellite operators are looking for more cash in an increasingly tumultuous industry. Just this week, SES confirmed merger talks with Intelsat – following reports of negotiations last year – in a deal that could be worth $10 billion. Meanwhile, Viasat is still working to close its purchase of Inmarsat, and Eutelsat is moving closer to approval for its purchase of OneWeb.

Further, all the players in the market are reacting to competitive challenges presented by upstarts like SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper. Indeed, earlier this month Amazon said it’s targeting 2024 for the first launch of its satellites as part of its $10 billion low-Earth orbit (LEO) plan.

And ongoing economic uncertainty – including mass tech layoffs – is likely not helping the satellite operators.

Quests for financing

Telesat CEO Dan Goldberg discussed his company’s financial challenges during a quarterly call this week.

“We said … that because of cost increases on Lightspeed that we were in discussions with some potential equity investors,” he explained, according to Seeking Alpha.

Goldberg assured investors that Telesat is still planning to build a LEO satellite constellation. But the company warned of an “expected delay” in the project, adding that it might not meet “some of the regulatory milestones.”

Telesat isn’t alone in facing financial constraints.

“Ligado faces another crisis at the end of this week,” tweeted longtime satellite analyst Tim Farrar with TMF Associates, noting that Ligado Networks will owe Inmarsat almost $400 million later this week.

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