I - Intelsat OneWeb Call the Whole Thing Off
It was supposed to be the space merger to end all space mergers and create a giant of satellite communications.
In February of 2017, Intelsat (NYSE: I) announced a complex, tripartite pact to merger its business with SoftBank (OTC: SFTBF) subsidiary OneWeb, attracting a $1.7 billion in investment from SoftBank in the process and wiping away $3.6 billion worth of Intelsat's debt. If effected, the transaction would have married Intelsat's fleet of 52 large satellites in high-altitude geosynchronous orbit with OneWeb's complementary and much larger constellation of 900 (planned) smaller satellites in Low Earth Orbit. It would also have resulted in a stronger Intelsat, with a lighter balance sheet and a larger fleet of communications satellites in orbit -- which would be 39.9% controlled by SoftBank.
But it was not to be. Just three months after the merger deal was announced, it fell apart after lenders balked at writing off such a large chunk of Intelsat's debt.