Rendering of a Eutelsat OneWeb satellite in orbit. Photo: Eutelsat

Satellite communications provider Eutelsat will receive a 975 million euro loan in French export credit financing to fund the Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites it recently ordered from Airbus Defence and Space.

In a Wednesday release, the company said the loan will finance the manufacturing of 340 satellites it contracted Airbus to build for the OneWeb constellation, plus an additional 100 already ordered. Airbus will manufacture the satellites for Eutelsat at its facility in Toulouse, France.

According to Eutelsat, the financing will be provided by a pool of commercial banks, obtained through French export credit agency, Bpifrance Assurance Export, and backed by the French state.

“We are delighted to secure this crucial aspect of Eutelsat’s refinancing plan,” Eutelsat CEO Jean-Francois Fallacher said. “We are grateful to the French state for its unwavering support. This funding significantly strengthens our financial structure and gives us the means to support the deployment of our LEO activities.”

Eutelsat said the new satellites will ensure operational continuity for OneWeb’s customers as older satellites reach the end of their operational lifetime. In January, the company said it would evaluate new business cases for the new satellites, namely hosted payloads.

The loan is subject to several conditions, including a bond issuance at Eutelsat Communications.

Last year, France increased its stake in Eutelsat becoming the largest single shareholder with 29.65% of shares.