SES and Intelsat have announced a combination in the second half 2025 pending regulatory approval, creating a multi-band, multi-orbit satellite connectivity provider that will be even more competitive with the other largest names in the industry. With this news came many questions and speculations, which are being addressed by Intelsat and SES leadership. Read on to learn more about what this transaction means to the competitive landscape.
“Over the past two years, the Intelsat team has executed a remarkable strategic reset,” said David Wajsgras, chief executive officer of Intelsat, in a statement. “By combining our financial strength and world-class team with that of SES, we create a more competitive, growth-oriented solutions provider in an industry going through disruptive change.”
Analysts Weigh In: “Strategic Consolidation in the Satellite Communications Industry”
Expert analysts in the space and defense sectors analyzed the news of the SES/Intelsat deal in which SES will acquire Intelsat. Voices from Valor Consultancy, PwC, Frost and Sullivan, and Analysys Mason discussed the news with Via Satellite. Click here to read the full article.
“The merger between SES and Intelsat equips the combined entity to compete more effectively with the likes of SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper. The merger between SES and Intelsat strategically positions the combined entity as a robust multi-orbit operator, leveraging their expanded capabilities across GEO, MEO, and LEO orbits — the latter through their partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb. This integration enables them to provide a seamless array of services tailored to diverse applications.” – Pravin Pradeep, industry analyst, Aerospace & Defence
SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh on the SES/Intelsat Merger
Adel Al-Saleh, SES CEO, spoke to a group of analysts and investors on April 30th, on the SES/Intelsat merger. Hear why SES brokered the deal here.
“This is a highly dynamic market. There’s new competition. This market is moving very fast, new LEO [Low-Earth Orbit] entrants are launching constellations. Having scale and a multi-orbit capability is critical to success. Being isolated or cornered into one part of the market without having the breadth and capability to compete is a difficult way to compete in this market.” – Adel Al-Saleh, CEO, SES
Starlink Competition Heating up with SES/Intelsat Merger
Lluc Palerm Serra, research director at NSR, an Analysys Mason Company and Christof Kern, Business Development Lead Satellite & Space, TTP, joined the Capacity podcast to discuss how the SES/Intelsat transaction positions the combined company to take on Starlink. Listen to the full podcast here.
“Both Intelsat and SES were very active in pushing for the integration of satellite into the 3GPP standards. I hope that the combination of these companies makes that push continue and even be stronger. This would be very good for the satellite industry in general. I think that could open new use cases like the connected car, like the IOT, and in other verticals that could generate a lot of growth for the satellite industry.” Lluc Palerm Serra, research director at NSR, an Analysys Mason Company
