OneWeb exits Russian joint venture ahead of $500m UK Government deal

The taxpayer-rescued satellite company OneWeb is shutting down a Russian joint venture backed by the Kremlin as the deal to buy it out of bankruptcy faces approval from the US government.

OneWeb said it would transfer its 49pc stake to majority owner Gonets, a subsidiary of Moscow’s space agency Roscosmos.

Gonets and OneWeb set up the joint venture in 2015 as a potential way to bring OneWeb’s internet satellite service to Russia, a major potential market since large parts of the world’s biggest country are not served by traditional internet connections.

The unit is not believed to have any significant assets, with OneWeb not set to launch its commercial service until late next year, and the company described the exit as a cleaning up exercise.

It comes after the Government took a step towards completing a $500m (£387m) investment in OneWeb with a US judge approving its exit from bankruptcy on Friday.

In July, the Government and Indian telecoms group Bharti said they would each take a 45pc stake in OneWeb, after the Anglo-American satellite internet company filed for bankruptcy in March.

Exiting the bankruptcy process is a major step towards the Government completing its investment, although America’s foreign investment watchdog, CFIUS, and its communications regulator, the Federal Communications Commission, must still both approve the deal.

Disposing of Russian-based assets could smooth over the approval process, although it is believed to have been planned before the UK agreed to buy a stake in OneWeb. As part of its investment, the Government will have a veto on any foreign government investing in OneWeb.

Exiting the Russian venture is not believed to have any effect on planned satellite launches on the Soyuz rocket in December, and the company could still pursue a commercial service in the country.

A OneWeb spokesperson said the joint venture had nothing material in it and had been removed from the process for convenience.