Amazon.com Inc. agreed to acquire satellite operator Globalstar Inc. in a roughly $11.6-billion deal that would boost the tech giant’s efforts to build its own satellite operation.

Amazon is offering Globalstar shareholders either $90 in cash per share, or 0.32 shares of Amazon stock with a value capped at $90 a share, according to a statement on Tuesday. That represents a 23.5 per cent premium over Globalstar’s Monday closing price. The deal is expected to close in 2027. 

With the acquisition, “customers can expect faster, more reliable service in more places — keeping them connected to the people and things that matter most,” said Panos Panay, senior vice-president of devices and services at Amazon, in the statement. 

Bloomberg News reported earlier that Amazon is in advanced talks to buy Globalstar. The satellite company’s shares jumped about 9 per cent in pre-market trading following the formal announcement, after initially being halted. The stock has soared more than 75 per cent since October 29, the last trading day before Bloomberg reported that the company was exploring a potential sale. Amazon shares rose 1.2 per cent before markets opened in New York.

Amazon is building out its low-earth-orbit satellite network, Amazon Leo, in a bid to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, whose fast-growing Starlink unit has more than 10 million active customers and about 10,000 satellites in orbit. Starlink is anticipated to bring in more than $9 billion in revenue this year.

Satellite broadband is booming, especially in hard-to-reach locations, but Amazon is falling behind on its goal to boost its coverage with more than 7,700 satellites. It’s asked the Federal Communications Commission to waive or extend a deadline to have 1,600 satellites aloft by July.

Globalstar could accelerate Amazon’s efforts because it already operates a functioning network of satellites, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Davies. But the company’s network is smaller than Starlink’s, and it mostly focuses on connecting phones and other devices in areas of low coverage. The company powers Apple Inc.’s emergency services feature on iPhones, for instance. 

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Published on April 15, 2026