Image by Globalstar

Amazon is reportedly in discussions with Globalstar to potentially acquire the company. Financial Times (FT) reported first broke the news in an article published Wednesday evening. The article cited people familiar with the discussions.

Globalstar is a telecommunications provider that operates a satellite constellation in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 28 ground stations across 18 countries and six continents. Since 2022, it has been Apple’s partner for emergency satellite messaging. It reserves 85 per cent of its network capacity to provide the service.

Apple holds a 20 per cent stake in Globalstar, requiring Amazon to negotiate with it as well, the Financial Times reported.

Bloomberg also reported this past October that Globalstar was weighing a potential sale.

Globalstar’s stock price has increased by nearly 300 per cent over the past year as investors begin to see it as a potential rival to SpaceX’s Starlink, which is Amazon’s principal competitor for satellite connectivity.

Its price jumped 18 per cent on Wednesday after rumors of the acquisition emerged, adding about $1 billion to its market cap. The company is now worth around $10 billion, according to Yahoo Finance.

The acquisition would boost Amazon Leo, Amazon’s LEO connectivity solution. Amazon is behind on its plans to build out the Leo constellation, having requested a milestone extension from the Federal Communications Commission earlier this year.