CNBC by Michael Sheetz 7/10/2020
How OneWeb’s $1 billion bankruptcy rescue changes the competitive landscape for Elon Musk’s Starlink
Key Points
• OneWeb’s $1 billion rescue from bankruptcy is an “improbable turn of events,†according to Quilty Analytics founder Chris Quilty, who explained to CNBC how OneWeb’s return will change the competitive landscape for its biggest rival SpaceX.
• “If OneWeb had vaporized into Chapter 7 [bankruptcy] and gone away forever, then SpaceX would have been number one,†Quilty said.
• SpaceX’s Starlink network is the leading player among companies looking to use hundreds or thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit to beam high-speed internet anywhere in the world.
Satellite internet company OneWeb is back in the space broadband race against SpaceX’s Starlink network, thanks to a late $1 billion bid that should rescue the former from bankruptcy.
OneWeb’s new owners, pending court approvals of the sale later this year, will be
the U.K. government and Indian telecommunications conglomerate Bharti Global — which each have committed $500 million in capital to finance OneWeb’s return from bankruptcy.
It’s an “improbable turn of events,†according to Quilty Analytics founder Chris Quilty, who explained to CNBC how OneWeb’s return after its “near-death experience†will change the competitive landscape for its biggest rival.
More:
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/10/onewebs-bankruptcy-rescue-changes-the-competition-for-elon-musks-spacex-starlink.html
