Overview
- Amazon, which announced the deal Tuesday, will pay $90 per Globalstar share in cash or Amazon stock with cash limited to 40%.
- A separate agreement makes Amazon Leo the provider for iPhone and Apple Watch satellite features such as Emergency SOS, Messages, Find My and roadside assistance.
- Amazon will fold Globalstar’s operating satellites, ground stations and licensed mobile‑satellite spectrum into its Leo network to build direct‑to‑device service that links phones to satellites without cell towers.
- The transaction is slated to close in 2027, with about 58% of shareholder voting power already committed and FCC review underway, which Chair Brendan Carr called very open‑minded.
- Amazon targets a D2D rollout starting in 2028 while racing SpaceX’s Starlink, which has around 10,000 satellites, as Leo counts just over 200 and seeks more time to meet a July 2026 deployment milestone.