London (AFP)

The British government was chosen to take over the bankrupt satellite operator Oneweb, allowing it to hold its place in space after Brexit.

London has teamed up with the Indian conglomerate Bharti, present in particular in the telecoms sector, to make a takeover bid which won the tender for the takeover of the operator.

The United Kingdom and Indian Bharti will each invest $ 500 million in Oneweb, the British government said on Friday.

The operator is deploying a constellation of satellites in low orbit which aims to provide broadband internet around the world.

The company failed to raise an additional two billion dollars to finance its constellation and had to place itself on March 27 under the protection of Chapter 11 of the US bankruptcy law, victim of the coronavirus crisis.

The British government specifies that it will take a significant share in the capital of Oneweb with the ambition to make the United Kingdom a global player in the space industry. The BBC mentions a 45% share.

"The transaction will help make the UK a pioneer in the research, development, manufacturing and exploitation of new technology for satellites," said a spokesman for Downing Street.

The British press sees in the interest of the United Kingdom for Oneweb the hand of Dominic Cummings, adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and fascinated for a long time by the space industry.

In addition to broadband internet, Oneweb's network, even if it is not made for GPS, should allow London to find ways to compensate for the loss of access to the European Galileo navigation system after Brexit .

This offer on Oneweb follows the creation of the National Space Council in the United Kingdom, chaired by the Minister of Finance Rishi Sunak and supposed to look after the interests of the country in terms of national security.

The United Kingdom will invest public money in this project, when it spends without counting to cushion the economic shock of the pandemic, but reluctant to inject funds into companies to ensure their survival.

The Oneweb takeover transaction, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year, has yet to gain the backing of US justice and regulatory authorities.

- Fierce competition -

In a separate press release, Oneweb said that this recovery will allow it to exit the bankruptcy regime with "solid foundations".

"Oneweb will contribute to the ambition of the British government to join the first rank of space nations", according to the company.

The United Kingdom intends to establish itself in the market for constellations of satellites which arouse many appetites.

European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton explained this week in an interview with Le Figaro that the European Union should have its own constellation to provide broadband internet.

However, Europe has not yet positioned itself to take over Oneweb, judging that the operator did not meet its ambitions.

The billionaire SpaceX juggernaut of the American billionaire Elon Musk has already deployed the Starlink constellation which already has some 300 satellites in orbit and aims to launch up to 42,000

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos carries the Kuiper project.

OneWeb, based in the United Kingdom and the United States, has already raised $ 3.4 billion since its creation in 2012 and intended to find new funds to continue the deployment of the planned 648 satellites. It already has 74 in orbit.

The machines are manufactured in Florida thanks to a joint venture with the aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Its recovery will be good news for Arianespace, which still had to launch 18 times to deploy these satellites, notably on the occasion of the inaugural flight of the future Ariane 6 rocket.

© 2020 AFP