Potential mergers between large satellite operators are looking increasingly unlikely anytime soon, according to industry leaders who spoke Wednesday at a panel discussion during the SATELLITE 2003 conference.

A major reason is that Eutelsat‘s revamped shareholder base seems content to wait until valuations rise before considering the sale of their stakes in the Paris-based satellite operator. Strong differences of opinion among leaders of fixed satellite services (FSS) companies surfaced about the wisdom of consolidation.

Eutelsat Chairman and CEO Giuliano Berretta warned about the clashes of culture that could occur when two big companies attempt to combine. The model that Berretta thinks the most sense is for a bigger company to acquire a smaller one.

SES Global President and CEO Romain Bausch said he views mergers between operators that involved in the same business segments as the best moves, whereas Intelsat CEO Conny Kullman countered that looking for complementary capabilities, rather than overlapping ones, was the wisest course.