Eutelsat Communications announced Oct. 11 it would offer up to 77.9 million shares in an initial public offering on the Euronext Paris exchange. The offering represents about 38.8 percent of the capital stock and voting rights of Eutelsat, with a maximum of about 56.4 million new shares to be issued.

Shares are priced between 15.25 euros ($18.29) and 17.75 euros ($21.28) for both the international offering to institutional investors and the retail offering in France. The retail offering in France is expected to close Oct. 24, while the international is scheduled to close Oct. 25, though Eutelsat said it could be closed sooner. The pricing of the offering is expected to occur Oct. 25 and trading on the exchange is expected to begin Oct. 26.

Net proceeds from the offering, estimated at 824 million euros ($987.9 million), will be used to pay down the company’s debt in order to provide greater financial flexibility.