Pending Satellite Deals and Spectrum Transfers
The satellite company deals and spectrum transfers announced and not yet closed, with each deal's value, status, next gate and expected close. Refreshed weekly for paid members.
Pending Satellite Deals and Spectrum Transfers
Every pending satellite company acquisition, merger and listing, and every pending sale, lease or regulatory reassignment of satellite spectrum, with what each deal is worth, where it stands, and the next gate it has to clear.
9
Company acquisitions, mergers and listings announced and not yet closed
8
Spectrum items: three sale or usage-rights deals and five regulator processes
5
Situations on watch that could produce a deal but have no signed transaction
6
Deals completed in 2026 and moved off the tracker
This tracker lists every satellite company acquisition, merger and stock-market listing that has been announced and not yet closed, worldwide, at $50 million and up or of strategic weight. Beside them it tracks spectrum: sales and long-term usage rights involving satellite operators, and the regulator processes that decide who holds satellite bands or what they are worth. For each one it gives the value and the basis for that value, the current status, the next gate, and the expected close. Status is as of 21 October 2026, and the tracker is refreshed weekly.
Which satellite deals are still pending?
As of 21 October 2026, nine company deals and eight spectrum items are pending. The two largest company deals, Amazon’s acquisition of Globalstar and Rocket Lab’s acquisition of Iridium, are both before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with closings expected in 2027. The largest spectrum transfer, SpaceX’s purchase of about 65 MHz of EchoStar’s mobile spectrum, has FCC approval and sits in a trust until a closing targeted for 30 November 2027. Others pending include the Airbus, Thales and Leonardo space merger, SpaceX’s purchase of Grain Management’s 800 MHz licenses, AST SpaceMobile’s use of Ligado’s L-band, MDA Space’s purchases of Blue Canyon Technologies and of a majority of Collecte Localisation Satellites, Gilat’s purchase of Comtech’s satellite business, the Space42 and Viasat joint venture, and the FCC’s upper C-band clearing, which pays SES, Eutelsat and Telesat to move their services out of the band.
The full tracker is for paid members.
It sets out every deal above with its value and the basis for that value, its status and next gate, its expected close, and links to the filings behind it. The tracker is a standing resource for paid members. It is refreshed every week, the status date changes with each refresh, and unlike the Deep Dives it does not rotate to free members or the open web. If you already have a paid account, sign in and the page opens where you are.
- 01Company acquisitions and mergers
- 02Spectrum sales and reassignments
- 03On watch
- 04Closed in 2026
- 05Changes since last refresh
- Method and related reading
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