Astrocast has concluded Heads of Terms for an investment agreement with Thuraya Telecommunications Company, the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider, Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PJSC (“Yahsat” or “the Group”), the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider.
The transaction will be in the form of a convertible loan valued a $17.5 million and marks Thuraya’s first investment in a LEO satellite constellation. As part of the agreement, both parties will also look to extend a technical cooperation agreement for another four years that was originally entered between Astrocast and Thuraya in 2019.
Astrocast operates a leading, global, smallsat IoT network with a focus on enabling low power, wide area connectivity solutions across core industries that include Transportation and Logistics, Oil & Gas, Utilities, Mining, Forestry, Agriculture, and Maritime. The agreement with Astrocast aims to strengthen Thuraya’s positioning in the IoT market and help expedite the execution of the company’s strategy for satellite enabled IoT.
“We look forward to working together with Astrocast to execute this strategic investment which highlights our continued belief in the outsized impact of the IoT sector for the space and satellite industries. We are pleased to further strengthen our relationship with Astrocast as we mutually explore ways to expand our service offering across GEO and LEO assets to unlock greater growth potential. Through this agreement, we are committed to enabling innovative solutions in the Maritime, Energy, Logistics, Transportation, Mining and Agriculture industries.” — Ali Al Hashemi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Yahsat.
“We are delighted to have secured this agreement with Thuraya, as we anticipate their support and expertise in guaranteeing Astrocast’s success in the low-power narrowband IoT market in the future. Our partnership with Thuraya has been solid for the past four years, and their continuous support is incredibly important to us. In addition, collaborating on creating new products and applications and leveraging the Thuraya distribution network will expedite the expansion of our customer ecosystem.”— Fabien Jordan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Astrocast.