-- Bharti Global (Bharti) exercises Call Option under existing shareholders' 
agreement to invest an additional $500m

-- OneWeb secures funding on anniversary of HMG/Bharti bid

-- Company financially secure, with no debt issuance

OneWeb, the global Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications company, has 
secured further fund-raising on the anniversary of the successful bid by UK 
Government and Bharti Global (Bharti) to purchase OneWeb from US Chapter 11 to 
bring its total funding to $2.4 billion. OneWeb has completed its 
transformation with the exercise of a Call Option by Bharti to invest an 
additional $500m into the company.

Today's announcement comes as OneWeb prepares for its eighth launch on 1st 
July, delivering highly anticipated and strategically valuable Arctic region 
coverage down to 50 degrees latitude.

The Call Option is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021, subject 
to regulatory approvals. On completion of the Call Option and with Eutelsat's 
$550m investment, Bharti will hold 38.6%. The UK Government, Eutelsat and 
Softbank will each own 19.3%.

The final shareholding structure may alter to the extent a member of the 
shareholders' group chooses to exercise a part of this call option. 

On completion, OneWeb will have secured $2.4bn of equity investment, with no 
issued debt.

Comments from OneWeb's Executive Chairman, Sunil Bharti Mittal:

"OneWeb represents a unique opportunity for investors at a key moment in the 
commercialisation of Space. With its Global ITU LEO Spectrum priority, Telco 
partnerships, successful launch momentum and reliable satellites, OneWeb is 
ready to serve the vital needs of high-speed broadband connectivity for those 
who have been left behind. Nation states can accelerate their universal service 
obligations, Telcos, their backhaul and Enterprise and Governments can serve 
remote installations."

Comments from Rt. Hon Kwasi Kwarteng, MP, Secretary of State, BEIS:

"Today's additional $500m investment in OneWeb by Bharti marks yet another vote 
of confidence in the company from the market. It's clear that investors see a 
strong future for this incredible, cutting-edge company and a robust commercial 
case for investment.

"The Government's equity stake in OneWeb not only allows the UK to deploy low 
Earth orbit technology, but will put our country at the forefront of the small 
satellite market which is set to rapidly expand over the years ahead.
"Now that OneWeb has met its original funding objective, I truly believe the 
company is fast becoming an asset to the British taxpayer and I look forward to 
seeing their ambition realised to provide global broadband connectivity next 
year."

Shravin Mittal, Managing Director of Bharti Global observed:

"Bharti is delighted to show our confidence in OneWeb's rapid progress by 
exercising our Call Option with the support of fellow shareholders. In just a 
year and during a global pandemic, together we have transformed OneWeb, 
bringing the operation back to full-scale. With this round of financing, we 
complete the funding requirements. We will continue to work alongside our 
partner shareholders, UK Government, Softbank and Eutelsat, to realise this 
unique opportunity."

Comments from Neil Masterson, CEO of OneWeb:

"The completion of our funding puts OneWeb in a powerful position. We have 
significantly lower entry cost of any LEO. We benefit from $3.4bn of 
pre-Chapter 11 investment by the original shareholders, making new OneWeb a 
three-times lower cost Constellation.  With the forthcoming launch we will have 
completed 40% of our Network. We are intently focused on execution and just ten 
more launches will enable us to deliver global coverage. Investors have backed 
the extraordinary efforts of the OneWeb team to deliver more of the global 
connectivity the World needs."

About OneWeb

OneWeb is a global communications network powered from space, headquartered in 
London, enabling connectivity for governments, businesses, and communities. It 
is implementing a constellation of Low Earth Orbit satellites with a network of 
global gateway stations and a range of user terminals to provide an affordable, 
fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency communications service, connected to the 
IoT future and a pathway to 5G for everyone, everywhere. Find out more at 
http://www.oneweb.world

SOURCE: OneWeb