Globalstar soars 16% on report of deal talks with Amazon to rival Starlink
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) is in advanced talks to acquire satellite operator Globalstar Inc (NASDAQ: GSAT) in a bid to rival SpaceX’s Starlink, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
A transaction could be announced as soon as Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.
Shares in Globalstar surged 15.7% in premarket trading by 04:31 ET.
The Bloomberg report follows a Financial Times report from earlier this month over Amazon nearing a deal for Globalstar, as the e-commerce giant seeks to build out its own low Earth orbit satellite business and compete with Starlink.
A major complicating factor in the deal is Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) 20% stake in Globalstar, which will require Amazon to negotiate directly with the iPhone maker. Apple invested $1.5 billion in Globalstar in 2024.
Globalstar shares are up 273% in the past 12 months, with the company seen attracting takeover interest over its potential to compete with Starlink.
Amazon has been steadily building out its own satellite effort, dubbed Leo. But the company has about 180 satellites in orbit, a fraction of the over 10,000 satellites operated by SpaceX.
