Emirati satellite operator Yahsat could be spun off from Abu Dhabi’s investment arm Mubadala, which has reportedly discussed a possible IPO of Yahsat shares with banks. SatelliteFinance understands that conversations have been held but there are no substantial plans for a listing at this stage.
Emirati satellite operator Yahsat could be spun off from Abu Dhabi’s investment arm Mubadala.
Mubadala has discussed a possible initial public offering of Yahsat shares with banks, according to Bloomberg citing four people familiar with the matter.
SatelliteFinance understands that conversations have been held but there are no substantial plans for a listing at this stage.
A Mubadala spokesperson said it does not comment on market rumours or speculation.
Yahsat has been owned by Mubadala since its founding in 2007 and is part of Abu Dhabi’s wider long-term strategy to diversify its economy away from oil and gas.
In Q4 this year Arianespace will place the operator’s third satellite, Al Yah 3 – unveiled in 2014 – to 20W using an Ariane 5. The Orbital ATK-built HTS bird will provide broadband services to almost 600 million people across Africa and Brazil through a Ka-band payload featuring 60 spot beams.
Al Yah 3 joins Yahsat’s existing fleet of Y1A launched in 2011 – featuring C-, Ku- and Ka-band payloads – and Y1B, lofted in 2012 to offer Ka-band capacity. Yahsat has previously said it planned to operate between three and five satellites in the region, where its main competitor is Arabsat, to achieve “critical mass”.
Mubadala is also reportedly considering selling its Swiss aerospace maintenance firm SR Technics and offloading a stake in its US semiconductor business Globalfoundries. The investment fund values its portfolio at US$65.9bn.
UAE forms strategic space partnership with UK
The UAE views space as an important strategic sector and is looking beyond the commercial industry, with the UAE Space Agency today signing a memorandum of understanding with the UK Space Agency.
The civil partnership lays out a framework for cooperation between the agencies, covering: joint studies and projects; the exchange of scientific data and information; an exchange of personnel and training of specialists between the two agencies; and government activities related to space policy, public outreach and human development.
Khalifa Al Romaithi, chairman of the UAE Space Agency, said: “We are looking forward to further augmenting this relationship via the new MoU, which is in line with our strategic plans to expand collaboration with the UK.”
The UK Space Agency has previously committed a portion of the funding to a mapping project between the UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) and Deimos Space UK. The plan, announced in 2015, is to develop mapping applications utilising high-resolution satellite data from both DubaiSat-2 and Deimos-2.
The UAE Space Agency also recently signed an MoU with China similar to the UK agreement, and earlier this month discussed future cooperation with NASA.
