• Globalstar linked to SpaceX M&A talks
• Wind Tre could merge with Iliad Italia
• Vodafone snaps up Skaylink

In today’s industry news roundup: Globalstar could join Starlink in SpaceX’s portfolio; another Italian telco merger plan is being cooked up; Vodafone adds European B2B muscle with acquisition; and more!

Low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite operator Globalstar is seeking a buyer and, according to Bloomberg, is in talks with SpaceX (which already has its own LEO operation in the form of Starlink) about a potential deal, though Elon Musk’s company isn’t the only interested party, it seems. Globalstar’s share price rocketed by 24% to as high as $53.21 on Thursday after the news broke. Globalstar chairman, James Monroe, had already let it be known he would support a sale at around the $10bn price mark – the company’s current share price gives it a market value of about $6.3bn. Apparently, Globalstar has already secured the services of an investment bank to help in readying the company for sale. That said, Bloomberg reports that Globalstar’s board has yet to confirm any definitive decision to sell and the speculation suggests it could yet elect to remain an independent company if it regards offers to buy as too low or too complex. Among companies that may well have something to say about Globalstar’s future is the mighty Apple, which has already invested upwards of $1.5bn in the company – Globalstar provides the emergency direct-to-device SOS services for iPhones and the satellite maker has agreed to allocate an astonishing 85% of its network capacity to Apple. The deal with Apple, signed and sealed almost exactly a year ago, enabled Globalstar to deliver expanded services to Apple over a new mobile satellite services (MSS) network. That included a new satellite constellation, expanded ground infrastructure and increased global MSS licensing. The “extended network” is owned and operated by Globalstar and its subsidiaries (which it refers to as Globalstar SPE) but Apple is a 20% “passive holder” of equity in the venture. Apple prepays some of the service fees that are entwined with the cost of the extended MSS network as well as “performance bonuses”. Globalstar controls the management board of Globalstar SPE and retains 100% of all terrestrial, MSS and other revenues. Apple launched its Emergency SOS service with the iPhone 14 in 2022 and declared the service will be free until 2025 (which, as we all know, is almost over). We await its bated breath to find out if Apple will start charging for its emergency SOS service in 2026. Other rumours indicate that Apple would not be keen to buy Globalstar outright because it doesn’t want to get embroiled in all the regulation and oversight that would come with such an asset. Might the best solution for all parties, then, be to strike an M&A deal with SpaceX and have two of the world’s biggest companies form a global alliance? Rivals might not want to see that.   

Having previously failed with its efforts to merge its Italian operation with that of Vodafone (it lost out to Swisscom), pan-European operator Iliad Group is trying once again to gain scale in the Italian market through a merger with Wind Tre, the operator owned by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison. According to the latest data provided by the independent Italian telecom regulator AgCom (Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni), Wind Tre is Italy’s third biggest mobile operator with a 24% market share (behind Telecom Italia and Fastweb + Vodafone), while Iliad is fourth with 12%. Iliad Italia’s operations are estimated to be worth €3bn. A tie-up would reduce Italy’s mobile operators from four to three and the potential deal is sure to attract intense political and regulatory attention. The Italian telecom market has long been regarded as ripe for consolidation and a Hutchison/Iliad tie-up is but the latest suggested move in that direction: Not only did Iliad try to merge its Italian operation with Vodafone’s but also suggested a tie-up with national operator Telecom Italia, a proposal that was rejected. Reuters, splashing the news as an exclusive report, says senior representatives from Hutchison and Iliad have held “early-stage conversations” about “a possible deal”. Speculation is that a likely outcome could be a joint venture. Iliad began operations in the Italian market in 2018.]: The introduction of what was then described as a “low-cost mobile operator” to the Italian market was a regulatory requirement as part of new EU antitrust legislation to clear the merger of Hutchison’s 3 Italia with Wind Telecom, back in 2016. As part of the settlement, the European Commission (EC) required that Wind Tre be prohibited from making any attempts to take over Iliad “until 2026 – at the earliest”. But a joint venture isn’t the only option: Speculation is already growing that Wind Tre could acquire Iliad’s Italian operations and pay its billionaire French owner, Xavier Niel, with shares in the future listed entity of Hutchison's European telecoms assets. But who knows? Neither Iliad nor Hutchinson will comment on the speculation. 

Vodafone Group has agreed to acquire German cloud, digital transformation and security specialist Skaylink for €175m to beef up its enterprise services portfolio in Europe. The deal is expected to close by the end of the first calendar quarter of 2026. Skaylink has 500 staff that, according to Vodafone, are “recognised experts at managing cloud deployments and migrations across Microsoft and Amazon Web Services environments and implementing AI solutions for business customers.” The telco added: “Skaylink’s customer-centric business model, capabilities and market presence will provide Vodafone’s business and public sector customers with access to an enhanced suite of digital services and support. The transaction is part of Vodafone Business’s ambition to accelerate growth in key areas such as security, managed services and cloud.” 

– The staff, TelecomTV