SES and Intelsat: The Biggest Deal of 2024

After years of rumors of a possible merger, SES announced on April 30 that it will acquire fellow satellite operator Intelsat in a $3.1 billion deal. Bringing together these two industry giants will create the largest Geostationary (GEO) satellite operator in existence, with a fleet of more than 100 satellites. 

While not wholly surprising, the deal will likely have a major impact on the satellite industry. With massive GEO assets, SES’s Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) fleet, and Intelsat’s agreement for Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) capacity, leaders say this deal will create a formidable multi-orbit operator to go after growth markets like government and mobility. 

In this Content Collection, Via Satellite takes a close look at the acquisition. We share commentary from a number of analysts breaking down the strength of the operators’ multi-orbit assets and how it will impact competition with Starlink and Kuiper. 

Our breadth and depth of coverage shows the full background of the deal — how both operators have evolved their businesses in recent years, and how executives have long been hinting at the value of consolidation. We highlight exclusive interviews like Steve Collar’s exit interview and an in-depth interview with SES’s new CEO Adel Al-Saleh. 

Via Satellite will continue to cover this acquisition, as it is expected to close in the second half of 2025. This Content Collection will serve as a dynamic hub to aggregate our coverage.