FirstFT: UK and France will get board seats in planned Eutelsat and OneWeb tie-up

The UK and French governments will each have a seat on the board of a new satellite operator aiming to take on billionaire space entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos under merger terms between Eutelsat and OneWeb, which were still being thrashed out last night.

Paris-listed Eutelsat and OneWeb, the space-based internet pioneer rescued from collapse by a $1bn British-led bailout in 2020, are close to agreeing an all-share deal that aims to create a company with the financial firepower to compete in the rapidly growing market for space-based connectivity.

A merger would address Eutelsat’s need for new growth to offset a declining satellite video business and OneWeb’s requirement for $2bn-$3bn in investment to complete its network and update its technology, according to people close to the deal.

A deal could also help to revive co-operation between Brussels and London on space projects after disputes over the post-Brexit deal between the EU and UK damaged relations. Tensions over the Northern Ireland protocol governing trade between the province and the rest of the UK have led to a stand-off over issues such as the UK’s participation in Copernicus, the earth observation programme.

People close to the deal cautioned that while many issues had been resolved, final agreement had not yet been reached. But many expect a deal to be unveiled as early as today.

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Five more stories in the news

1. Beijing plans three-tier data strategy to avoid US delistings China is preparing a system to sort hundreds of US-listed Chinese companies into groups based on the sensitivity of the data they hold, in order to bring them into compliance with US rules requiring public companies to allow regulators to inspect their audit files.

2. WHO declares monkeypox an international public health emergency The World Health Organization has used the highest possible designation for the worldwide outbreak of 16,000 monkeypox cases, which was previously deployed over two years ago for Covid-19. The risk from monkeypox is “high” in Europe, but remains low elsewhere.

3. China’s Belt and Road spending in Russia drops to zero Beijing struck no new deals with Russian entities under the Belt and Road Initiative in the first half of 2022, signalling China’s reluctance to incur sanctions in the wake of the Ukraine war. While slowing its investments in Russia, China deepened its engagement with the Middle East.

4. Singapore courts local tech giants over ‘national duty’ to relist In a bid to boost the appeal of the city-state’s stock market, Singapore is lobbying its largest technology companies to return and relist there after completing initial public offerings in the US.

5. China strengthens warning to US about Pelosi’s planned Taiwan trip Beijing has publicly threatened “strong measures” if Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, proceeds with her planned visit to Taiwan in August. Sources say there have also been private suggestions of a military response.

The day ahead

Economic results Ryanair releases its first-quarter earnings today, and Tesla releases its second-quarter earnings.

UK leadership race The BBC hosts a live TV debate today between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, the final two candidates in the running to replace Boris Johnson.

Taiwan military The army will stage the Han Kuang real artillery exercise today, the country’s most important annual war games.

World Trade Organization The WTO’s general council gathers in Geneva today for a special meeting.

What else we’re reading

Japan faces scrutiny over details of $1.1tn climate plan Prime minister Fumio Kishida has positioned the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as a core pillar of his new economic agenda but questions remain about the effort’s feasibility and its funding.

Inside Ukraine’s open-source war Behind the front lines, engineers are setting up vitally important digital networks to aid in defence, camouflaging satellite terminals from Russian interference and solving other technological warfare problems such as how to detect Russian drones.

Imposter syndrome is actually the human condition A bit of self-doubt is part of a healthy professional life, so why do we label it as a disease? Women, in particular, are fed up with being told how to change themselves to operate better in a given environment, writes Viv Groskop, because it ignores the wider reality of an imperfect world.

Abe’s death highlights anti-Japan sentiment in China A torrent of messages from China heralded the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe as “happy” or referred to Abe’s attacker as a “hero”, highlighting the enduring Chinese view of Abe as the latest symbol in a long history of Japanese imperialism.

Rethinking insurance: how prevention is better than a claim The insurance sector is evolving, with new technologies such as wearable devices making it easier to collect real-time data on customers. This has become instrumental in driving schemes focused on preventing claims, such as offering consumers incentives for physical activity.

Food

A new generation of fine-dining chefs is offering innovative, out-there ice cream flavours such as roasted potato skin, Douglas fir . . . and second-hand books.