Yahsat completes its Thuraya acquisition

Al Yah Satellite Communications, the biggest satellite operator in the UAE, yesterday said it completed the acquisition of a majority stake in the mobile satellite services firm, Thuraya Telecommunications Company.

“The Thuraya acquisition provides us with an ideal opportunity to grow and diversify our business, bolstering our satellite solutions capabilities on both government and commercial fronts,” Masood Mahmood, chief executive of Yahsat, said.

“By integrating the portfolios of the two companies, we will together be able to offer a comprehensive mobile and fixed satellite services portfolio.”

A Yahsat spokesperson declined to divulge the monetary value of the stake in Thuraya, the UAE’s first home-grown satellite operator.

“We can confirm that this is the first major transaction made by Yahsat in its history, and will make it the first, global, diversified mobile and fixed satellite services business,” a spokesperson said.

Yahsat, which is wholly owned by Abu Dhabi’s strategic firm Mubadala Investment Company, is anticipating greater demand for satellite broadband services on the back of higher uptake in Internet of Things serviced industries such as oil and gas and on the growth of sustainable cities in the region.

The acquisition of a majority stake in Thuraya is part of the firm’s efforts to grow its mobility segment, Mr Mahmood told

The National in June. Yahsat, which launched its third satellite, Al Yah 3 in January, has appointed Ali Al Hashemi as the new chief executive of Thuraya. He previously led Yahsat’s government solutions business.

The completion of the Yahsat acquisition follows Etisalat’s announcement last week to selling its stake in Thuraya for $37 million (Dh137m) to Star Satellite Communications, a subsidiary of Yahsat.

Thuraya’s two satellites, serving more than 160 countries, will join the Yahsat fleet, expanding it to five in total.

The combination of geostationary satellites operating in the C, Ka, Ku and L-bands will jointly cover Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South America, and Asia.

The fleet will provide a broad range of fixed and mobile satellite services spanning voice and data communications.