Quilty: SES/Intelsat May Not Close Until 2026

Extensive regulatory reviews of SES's buy of Intelsat could push its close into 2026, Quilty Space said Monday. Quilty said it doesn't see a high regulatory risk to that close ultimately happening. The new SES would have "unparalleled scale" in geostationary orbit and medium earth orbit, along with a robust ground network and a variety of managed services, it predicted. However, the acquisition alone will not reverse Starlink’s advance or "blunt the future effects of Kuiper," it said. In announcing the $3.1 billion deal in April, the companies said they expected to close in latter-half 2025 (see 2404300048).