France Gets the Keys
You might think today’s news from Eutelsat is just another “shareholder meeting approves capital raise.” But it’s not. What just passed is a strategic rescue mission, under the guise of governance reform.
Start with the capital raise. Eutelsat is unveiling a two-legged plan: a reserved capital increase aimed at a select set of investors (mostly states and strategic companies), followed by a rights issue for general shareholders. The anchor investors get to jump to the front of the line; the rest get leftovers. The reserved leg amounts to nearly €828 million in new equity; the rights issue adds the balance to reach a target around €1.35 billion. If all goes as planned, Eutelsat will emerge with a reinforced war chest and an even more tilted ownership structure. (Yes, they explicitly say the two parts are indivisible: pass one, pass all.)
