Name: Amazon reportedly considers Globalstar acquisition
Uploaded: 2026-04-02T20:19:56.324Z
Duration: 2 min 54 s
Description: CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos on a report that Amazon is in talks to buy Globalstar in a deal valued at about $9 billion, a move that could strengthen its satellite internet ambitions.

CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos on a report that Amazon is in talks to buy Globalstar in a deal valued at about $9 billion, a move that could strengthen its satellite internet ambitions.

Amazon is reportedly in discussions to acquire GlobalStar, a satellite telecommunications company, in a deal valued at approximately $9 billion. The potential acquisition is aimed at boosting Amazon's Project Leo, its satellite internet venture, which has faced delays and currently lags behind SpaceX's Starlink in terms of satellite deployment and user base.

GlobalStar's value lies in its spectrum licenses, operational experience, and direct-to-device capability, which allows phones to connect directly to satellites. The talks are reportedly complicated by Apple's 20% stake in GlobalStar. If completed, the deal could help Amazon close the gap with competitors by enhancing its operational capabilities and regulatory standing.

Amazon reportedly considers Globalstar acquisition

All right, welcome back. Some news in the deal-making space today. Amazon reportedly in talks to buy GlobalStar, and this would be a big boost to its Leo business that it was hoping will rival Starlink. Amazon declining to comment on this particular report here, but it could be a big deal. Joining us now to break down what it could all mean for us is CNBC correspondent Mackenzie Sagalos. Mack, this could be a kind of boost, right, in this race that Amazon is trying to put up there in terms of a constellation of satellites against the likes of Starlink and everybody else out there. Absolutely, a boost they really need. So satellite telecom company GlobalStar is now very much at the center of these space internet wars. You saw shares in that company jump on the report that Amazon's weighing a $9 billion deal for the company, a move that could give it that meaningful boost that it needs to Project Leo. That's Amazon's satellite venture that's targeting commercial service later this year. So far though, they've only launched 200 low earth orbit satellites, have been hitting multiple delays and recently had to ask the FCC for an extension of a key deployment deadline. Still, Amazon's trying to take on SpaceX's Starlink with this, which has a multi-year headstart and a massive moat with roughly 10,000 satellites in orbit and more than 9 million users. SpaceX also reportedly explored a deal for GlobalStar last year, and that's notable because this company only has 48 active satellites. So its appeal isn't scale. It's the fact that it has spectrum licenses, operational experience and crucially direct to device capability, which lets you connect a phone straight to a satellite without a separate terminal. That is a market that Starlink has been chasing, which is why SpaceX was interested in them. And another potential roadblock here, Apple owns a 20% stake in GlobalStar and is reportedly making these late stage talks harder to close. Mac, just how much could a deal hypothetically like this change the competitive dynamic and tilt it way more in favor of one versus it? We know that Starlink has a massive head start in this whole process. Right. So, I mean, Amazon has been it was originally called Kuiper. Now it's called Project Leo. This has been an ambition for them for a few years now, but they've been struggling in part because their launch partners aren't getting enough satellites into space, which is why they're out to the FCC looking to get this extension. Because right now, by July 30th, in order to keep their license with the FCC, they need to get 1600 satellites into space. But it's typical that you'd see delays. SpaceX is trying to block that extension. But the goal remains the same. Get commercial service up and running by the end of the year. And where this company and where this acquisition could be especially helpful is on the license side of this. So, yes, it only adds 48 satellites to their total, but it puts them at a head start in terms of some of the operational capabilities where they need to close the gap. All right. Mackenzie Segalos here with the latest on deals and satellites. Thank you very much, Mac, for that.

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