Investments · Satellite internet
SoftBank to invest $1 billion in satellite firm OneWeb, funding a Florida factory
- Investor
- SoftBank Group (Tokyo)
- In
- OneWeb, London, United Kingdom
- Value
- $1B of a $1.2B round
- Status
- Announced on December 19, 2016; expected to close in the first quarter of 2017.
- Date
- 2016-12-19
SoftBank Group agreed to invest $1 billion in OneWeb as part of a $1.2 billion round it led. OneWeb is based in London but planned heavy US operations, including a satellite factory in Exploration Park, Florida, and nearly 3,000 US jobs over four years. SoftBank called the deal the first step in a commitment Masayoshi Son made to President-elect Donald Trump to invest in the US.
Why it matters
The investment turned Son's US investment pledge into a first concrete project, tied to manufacturing jobs in Florida.
The Florida factory
The funds were to support technology development and a high-volume satellite plant in Exploration Park, Florida, designed to build 15 satellites a week, with production starting in 2018. Existing investors including Qualcomm, Airbus Group, Bharti Enterprises, Intelsat, The Coca-Cola Company and the Virgin Group provided the rest of the round.
The satellite network
OneWeb planned a low Earth orbit network starting with 720 satellites to extend the reach of mobile operators and internet providers, with a goal of connecting unconnected schools by 2022. SoftBank director Ronald Fisher was to join OneWeb's board, and the deal was subject to regulatory approvals.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
