TAMPA, Fla. — Viasat’s $6.2 billion Inmarsat acquisition has created a satellite communications behemoth with revenues that would rival other geostationary operators even after their potential consolidation deals.
Inmarsat is set to help U.S.-based Viasat generate $4.5 billion in revenue for the 12 months to March 31 after its sale wrapped up last week, according to William Blair analyst Louis DiPalma, nearly 60% more than its $2.8 billion forecast without the British operator.
The companies have previously operated under different fiscal financial years but recorded around $4 billion in total revenues for 2022, although Viasat has since also sold off a tactical data business that had generated about $400 million in annual sales.
Meanwhile, Intelsat and SES, the world’s largest geostationary orbit (GEO) operators by number of satellites, are in talks about creating a merged company that would generate around $4 billion in combined revenues.
And GEO fleet operator Eutelsat has said it should nearly double annual sales in five years to around $2 billion if its merger with low Earth orbit (LEO) venture OneWeb gets approved this summer.
All these companies are likely eclipsed in revenues by privately held SpaceX, which pulls in billions for its launch business as the company rapidly expands its Starlink LEO broadband constellation.
Combining satellite fleets
DiPalma forecasts the enlarged Viasat will post $1.6 billion in adjusted EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, for the 12 months to March 31, versus $549 million without Inmarsat.
The combined company has 19 satellites in its fleet — when counting the Anik F2 under a lifetime lease from Canada’s Telesat — and around 8,000 employees. Inmarsat provided 13 of these satellites and roughly 1,800 employees.
Satellite Spectrum band Launched Manufacturer Launch provider From Inmarsat: I-3 F5 L-band February 1998 Lockheed Martin Arianespace I-4 F1 L-band March 2005 EADS Astrium ILS I-4 F2 L-band November 2005 Airbus Sea Launch I-4 F3 L-band August 2008 EADS Astrium ILS I-4 F4 (Alphasat) L-band July 2013 EADS Astrium & Thales Alenia Space Arianespace I-5 F1 (GX1) Ka-band August 2013 Boeing ILS If-F2 (GX2) Ka-band February 2015 Boeing ILS I5-F3 (GX3) Ka-band August 2015 Boeing ILS I-5 F4 (GX4) Ka-band May 2017 Boeing SpaceX Inmarsat-S EAN S-band June 2017 Thales Alenia Space Arianespace I-5 F5 (GX5) Ka-band November 2019 Thales Alenia Space Arianespace I-6 F1 (GX6A) L- & Ka-band December 2021 Airbus MHI I-6 F2 (GX6B) L- & Ka-band February 2023 Airbus SpaceX From Viasat: ViaSat-1 Ka-band October 2011 Space Systems / Loral ILS ViaSat-2 Ka-band June 2017 Boeing Arianespace KA-SAT *acquired from Eutelsat in 2021 Ka-band December 2010 EADS Astrium ILS Anik F2 *lifetime lease from Telesat Ka-band July 2004 Boeing Arianespace Wilblue-1 *acquired 2009 Ka-band December 2006 Space Systems / Loral Arianespace ViaSat-3 Ka-band April 2023 Boeing SpaceX
SES has more than 70 satellites across geostationary and medium Earth orbit, while Intelsat has over 50 in GEO.
Eutelsat has 38 GEO satellites in orbit, and OneWeb has 634 spacecraft in LEO, including a technology demonstrator that launched in May.
SpaceX’s Starlink constellation easily overshadows all these operators combined with more than 4,000 satellites in LEO.
While all of Viasat and Inmarsat’s satellites are in geostationary orbit, Inmarsat has two payloads on order that are slated to launch to highly elliptical orbit later this year for coverage over the globe’s northernmost latitudes. Inmarsat also has plans for a network in LEO, which Viasat has also been exploring.
Despite announcing plans to merge a year and a half ago, Viasat and Inmarsat have spent little time comparing internal plans as they waited to clear regulatory approvals, Inmarsat chief technology officer Peter Hadinger said in an interview earlier this year.
The operators officially closed their acquisition May 30 but have not yet set a date for when they expect to complete their integration process.
The merger, and other operator consolidation deals in the works or under consideration, come amid a growing threat to GEO business models from LEO. Starlink has been taking subscribers away from Viasat’s residential broadband business, DiPalma noted, and competition is set to intensify as Amazon prepares to launch initial services from its proposed $10 billion constellation next year.
