As the commercial space war continues to heat up, Amazon is considering buying US-based Globalstar.
According to the Financial Times, Amazon is in active talks with the company, with the purchase price of around $9 billion. Although this might seem like a straightforward acquisition, Apple owns 20% of the company, and the tech giant is now part of the negotiations. According to the source, Apple and Amazon are directly in discussions.
Globalstar is a US-based satellite company with a low-earth orbit constellation of around 30 satellites. The company plans to launch a new constellation of its C-3 satellites, doubling its capacity to 48. To support the launch, Globalstar has already struck a deal with SpaceX for launch services. Currently, Apple uses Globalstar for its SOS messaging. In addition, DOT devices use the constellation for GPS tracking, and Globalstar sells its own satellite phones that can use data and voice services.
As a result of the rumours, Globalstar stock has surged by over 15 percent.
For its sake, Globalstar, Amazon and Apple have not confirmed the reports, and no one from any of the companies has made a public comment.
