Europe’s satellite giant Eutelsat on Wednesday saw its stock sink brutally after SoftBank sold off 36 million rights, which equals around 26 million shares on Eutelsat.
The announcement triggered a 7.2% plunge in early trading, with shares last quoted lower as of press time, based on data from CNBC.
SoftBank unloads shares as Eutelsat lags far behind Starlink
The timing couldn’t be worse for Eutelsat, which merged with OneWeb in 2023, hoping to compete with Starlink, the satellite-internet arm of Elon Musk’s empire. But the gap is still massive.
On its site, Eutelsat claims to operate over 600 satellites. On the other hand, Starlink lists more than 6,750 satellites in orbit. The difference in scale speaks for itself.
The company had been riding high earlier this year. In early March 2025, shares skyrocketed more than 600%, as Europe raced to build up its tech infrastructure following the U.S. pullback in military support to Ukraine. That momentum definitely did not last.
Since those March highs, Eutelsat has cratered more than 70%, erasing most of the year’s gains and calling its long-term plan into question.
To stabilize things, the French government stepped in. In June, Paris led a €1.35 billion (roughly $1.57 billion) investment round, becoming Eutelsat’s top shareholder with a stake near 30%. That gave the company access to fresh capital and a lifeline, but not enough to change its market position. The merger with OneWeb hasn’t delivered the dominance many in Brussels hoped for.
Meanwhile, SoftBank’s selloff might not be the last. The Japanese company hasn’t issued any public explanation yet. The fire-sale structure, though, suggests they weren’t interested in holding through the dilution. And in this market, that kind of selling attracts more selling.
European indices rise while investors eye Fed decision and ADP report
Despite the blow to Eutelsat, Europe’s stock market opened pretty strong today, with the Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.32%, holding at 577.50. Most major indexes across the region showed gains. France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.27% to 8,096.74. Italy’s FTSE MIB jumped 0.76% to 43,683.47. Germany’s DAX rose 0.32% to 23,786.81. Spain’s IBEX 35 popped 1.50% to 16,721.00. The UK’s FTSE 100, however, slipped 0.14% to 9,687.74.
The gains followed a bounce in U.S. markets on Tuesday and solid trading in Asia overnight, after a weak start to the week. In the States, all three major indexes finished green. Nvidia led the tech rally. Bitcoin also rebounded after logging its worst session since March the day before. The S&P 500 and Dow both dipped during the session but recovered late, while the Nasdaq hugged the flatline before lifting.
Investors are now bracing for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate call on December 10. The odds of a rate cut have surged to 89%, based on trader expectations. That’s a steep jump from the middle of November and reflects bets that inflation is cooling faster than expected.
The next test for those bets comes fast, as labors numbers in the ADP private payrolls report for November is scheduled to hit around 5 hours from now. The report is expected to show the job market holding steady, giving the Fed more cover to ease policy if needed.
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