Overview
- Amazon is negotiating to acquire Globalstar, according to the Financial Times, and people familiar with the talks say no agreement is in place and the process could still fall apart.
- Apple owns about 20% of Globalstar after a $1.5 billion investment and holds rights to roughly 85% of the network’s capacity, which would require Amazon to reach terms with Apple for any deal.
- Following the takeover reports, Globalstar shares jumped nearly 12% in premarket trading as Amazon’s stock slipped about 2%.
- Amazon is building a low-Earth-orbit network, now with roughly 200 satellites and a plan for about 3,200, as it tries to narrow the gap with Starlink’s roughly 10,000 satellites and large user base.
- Globalstar is a smaller U.S. operator that provides voice and data links, including support for satellite features on iPhones, with news outlets citing different satellite counts that still signal a far smaller scale than Starlink.