Nebozzo, a 50/50 joint venture between U.S. investment companies TPG and Spectrum has in the last few days has taken a 9-percent+ stake in Eutelsat. This includes the stake previously owned by Dutch PTT KPN, which was around 3.5 percent.

This now means that more than 60 percent of Eutelsat’s original telco shareholdings have changed since July 2001. During the last three years, Eutelsat’s shareholder base has undergone significant change. The process really began in November 2001, when Telecom Italia sold a variety of satellite interests, including a 20.5-percent stake in Eutelsat, to Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Partners. In December 2002, Deutsche Telekom got in on the act by selling a 10.87-percent stake in Eutelsat to De Agostini S.pA, a leading Italian investment group. In February 2003, France Telecom agreed to sell its 23.14-percent stake in Eutelsat to French investment company Eurazeo.