As a result, the new SES will utilise its experienced teams and expanded capabilities to deliver integrated satellite and connectivity services to businesses and governments globally.
SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh said: “We’re not just merging two companies – we’re creating a stronger company, built for the future. I want to extend a warm welcome to all new employees, customers, and partners.
“In this new chapter, we are bringing together a powerful mix of talented people, network infrastructure, spectrum, innovation, and global relationships that will allow us to deliver next-generation connectivity and space-enabled services in smarter and quicker ways.”
Merger talks were first mentioned in 2024, when SES confirmed it was in advanced talks to acquire the satellite giant.
This initial announcement was made in response to media speculation and included limited details, as the deal had not yet been finalised. However, earlier this year, the formal announcement of the completed acquisition was made, subject to approval.
Earlier this week, SES received the final regulatory approvals required to complete the acquisition, including clearance from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
However, this comes after a proposed merger between the two satellite companies was scrapped in June 2023, after three months of official talks.
At the time, sources from SES revealed that Intelsat had walked away from the deal, with a statement which read: “SES announces today that discussions regarding a possible combination with Intelsat have ceased.
“On 29 March 2023, SES confirmed that the company engaged in discussions with Intelsat and that there could be no certainty that a transaction would materialise.”
However, the merged network will now include around 90 geostationary (GEO) satellites, nearly 30 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites and strategic access to low Earth orbit (LEO).
Now, the space solutions provider can offer even more tailored services to customers in a raft of different industries, including government, aviation, media and maritime, thanks to its range of spectrum bands, including C-, Ku-, Ka-, Military Ka-, X-band, and Ultra High Frequency.
Additionally, the combined company is now expected to generate €3.7 billion in revenue and €1.8 billion in adjusted EBITDA.
SES also expects to generate over €1 billion in free cash flow by 2027-2028, supported by a contract backlog of over €8 billion.
The company also announced it will continue investing in future growth, with average annual spending of €600- €650 million between 2025 and 2028, excluding IRIS2.
Focus areas for the company, however, include emerging markets like the Internet of Things (IoT), direct-to-device services, inter-satellite links, space awareness and quantum key distribution.
Al-Saleh said: “Our focus is clear: to grow, to lead in high-potential markets, and to shape the future of our industry. This is a long-term play, and we are building with the future in mind — growing year after year, expanding our capabilities, and creating lasting value for our customers and shareholders alike.”
SES also revealed it expects to achieve €2.4 billion in total synergies from the merger, with annual savings of about €370 million, with 70% of these savings being realised within three years, driven by more efficient operations and better use of satellite and ground infrastructure.
The acquisition reflects how traditional satellite companies are merging to compete with fast-growing players like SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper.
“Starlink’s value proposition beats the promise that the GEO satellite industry can make to its million or so consumer broadband customers,” Christof Kern, business development lead of satellite & space at TTP, told Capacity last year.
“Where professional solutions for mobile network operators are concerned, a GEO/MEO solution can still deliver superior results. I think the industry in general has been playing a waiting game the last two years and saying, ‘OK, what’s going to happen?”
“Now they are starting to feel the pain, so smaller to medium satellite operators are starting to think about what they can do. But two of the big ones, Intelsat and SES, chose the easy way out, creating an industry giant they think is too big to fail.”
By combining resources, SES and Intelsat now offer both Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) services, making them one of the few companies with this kind of global reach.
With this deal, SES becomes the only major provider, other than Starlink, that offers users both MEO and GEO services under one brand, resulting in better coverage and reliable services.
However, with Intelsat just recently coming out of bankruptcy and SES taking on more debt to pay the $3.1 billion deal, combining networks and operations will be complex and also costly, especially if the company continues to invest in its next O3b mPOWER system.
The move also mounts pressure on other satellite providers like Eutelsat, Viasat and even Starlink, as customers could benefit from more flexible and reliable services, increasing competition.
According to CCS Insight’s research analyst Joe Gardiner the deal reflects the realities of an increasingly competitive market.
“The acquisition of Intelsat by SES represents the most recent merger in the industry that has seen mergers with Eutelsat/OneWeb and Viasat/Inmarsat. These deals have occurred due to the pressure mainly Starlink has put on the industry in recent years,” he said.
“SES and Intelsat therefore felt they needed to merge to improve scale and efficiencies, particularly as well-financed new entrants begin to enter the market like Amazon Kuiper.’
He added: “The aim of the new company will be to heavily push into its multi-orbit offering – the company has a sizable number of MEO and GEO satellites of its own. It also has deals to use capacity from both Starlink and OneWeb (via Intelsat).
“Though the company will stress that for many applications MEO and GEO satellites provide a good quality of service with low enough latency, the market is moving towards LEO solutions. Therefore, it could become a risk in its supply chain if Starlink decides it doesn’t want to continue its partnership”, he concludes.
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