Satellite operators SES and Intelsat in merger talks – FT

(Reuters) – Luxembourg-based satellite group SES SA is in talks to merge with its U.S. rival Intelsat SA, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, signaling consolidation in the rapidly changing and competitive industry.

Last week, French satellite company Eutelsat said it was in talks over a possible all-share merger with British rival OneWeb.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has raced ahead of rivals to build a constellation of satellites by investing heavily in infrastructure and recently broke its record of the number of rockets launched in a single year.

Intelsat and SES are in active discussions about the structure of any potential deal, the FT report said, citing three people familiar with the matter, adding that the discussions were at an early stage and there is no guarantee of a deal being reached.

“Neither wants to be the last one standing,” the report quoted one of the three persons as saying.

SES, which has a market capitalisation of 3.57 billion euros ($3.63 billion) according to Refinitiv Eikon data, declined to comment on the report, while Intelsat did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

In May, SES said it expects demand for its services in Ukraine to have a positive effect on its second-half revenue, after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings.

($1 = 0.9841 euros)

(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)