Amazon plans to engage in a $9 billion negotiation to acquire satellite operator GSAT, as it joins the "space race."

Amazon is looking to challenge SpaceX in the low-Earth-orbit satellite internet market by pursuing an acquisition of Globalstar.

People familiar with the matter told the British Financial Times that Amazon is in talks with satellite telecommunications operator Globalstar regarding a potential acquisition. As of Wednesday, April 1, Globalstar’s market value was about $9 billion. Its stock price has risen by roughly 230% over the past year, and the market has long been betting that this company could become a potential competitor to SpaceX or an acquisition target. After the news broke, Globalstar rose more than 15% after hours.

The negotiations have been ongoing for a long time, but the two sides are still working through several complex issues. People familiar with the matter cautioned that there is still no final agreement, and talks could still change or fall apart. Globalstar said, “Company policy does not comment on industry rumors or speculation”; Amazon declined to comment; Apple did not respond immediately.

Apple holds 20%, adding uncertainty to the deal structure

One of the core obstacles to this acquisition is Apple’s stake in Globalstar.

In 2024, Apple invested $1.5 billion in Globalstar, securing about 20% equity. As part of the agreement, Globalstar committed to reserve 85% of its network capacity for Apple, to be used for iPhone satellite messaging services outside the coverage area of cellular signals.

This means that if Amazon is to complete the acquisition, it would have to negotiate with Apple as well and handle this strategic capacity arrangement, making the deal structure even more complex.

Amazon’s catch-up pressure

Amazon’s project to enter the low-Earth-orbit satellite internet market is called “Leo,” and it completed the first batch of satellite launches last year.

But the gap is stark: Amazon currently has only slightly more than 180 satellites in orbit, while Starlink’s active satellites in orbit under SpaceX have already exceeded 10,000.

Its timeline is also under pressure. In February this year, Amazon had to file a two-year extension application with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to meet regulatory requirements for launching 1,600 satellites originally scheduled by July this year. According to regulatory filings, Amazon plans to increase the number of satellites in orbit to about 700 by mid-2025, but insufficient launch capacity is constraining the pace of its expansion.

Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy told investors in February this year that Leo is one of the “incremental opportunities” that this e-commerce giant with a market value of $2.2 trillion is set to pursue.

Globalstar’s commercial value

Globalstar was founded in 1991 and is already a satellite telecommunications company with a real operational scale.

Its latest annual report shows that for fiscal year 2025, full-year revenue was $273 million, up 9% year over year. Operating income was $7.4 million, compared with a small loss in the prior year.

For Amazon, acquiring Globalstar would not only mean obtaining an existing satellite network and spectrum resources, but also directly narrowing the gap with Starlink. According to Bloomberg, Globalstar was exploring sale possibilities in October last year and had preliminary contact with SpaceX, indicating that this asset has attracted attention from multiple parties.

On the commercial deployment front, Amazon has signed agreements with JetBlue and Delta Air Lines, to provide in-flight internet services for its flights in 2027 and 2028, respectively—making Globalstar’s network capacity more strategically valuable to Amazon as well.

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