Eutelsat confirms rejection of telecoms tycoon Drahi’s takeover bid

French satellite firm Eutelsat has confirmed it received an offer from telecoms tycoon Patrick Drahi but turned down the initial proposal, following a report by Reuters.

It confirmed in a statement on its website that it had “received an unsolicited, preliminary and non-binding proposal from Patrick Drahi in connection with a potential transaction on all of the company’s share capital.”

The company, one of the world’s leading commercial satellite operators, said its relevant governance bodies had unanimously decided not to engage in talks based on the terms of the offer.

Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters had reported that Drahi was in talks to buy the company in a deal that would see one of his investment vehicles take direct control. Reuters