Britain to invest 163 million euros in France's Eutelsat, Les Echos reports

July 10 (Reuters) - Britain will invest 163 million euros (140.49 million pounds) in French satellite operator Eutelsat, Les Echos reported on Thursday, citing an Elysee source, after a much bigger cash injection by France to help it compete with SpaceX's Starlink.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who is on a two-day state visit to the UK, in a post on X thanked Britain as it continues to "follow us on the Eutelsat adventure".

"We’re over the moon to keep going with you. Together we go further!," Macron said.

Eutelsat and the British and French governments could not immediately be reached for comment.

The French state will become the largest shareholder in Eutelsat later this year and is leading a 1.35 billion euro capital increase to support the debt-laden company.

The investment will bring the recapitalisation to a total of 1.5 billion euros, it added.

It could also open the door to Britain's involvement in the European Union's IRIS² satellite constellation project, for which Eutelsat is one of the main contractors, the report said.

Britain became a shareholder in satellite operator OneWeb in 2020 as part of a $1 billion bailout alongside investor Bharti Space, before OneWeb merged with Eutelsat in 2023. (1 British pound = 1.1602 euros) (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Mathieu Rosemain; Additional reporting by Elizabeth Pineau in Paris and Muvija M in London; Editing by Barbara Lewis)

Eutelsat Communic.