A federal bankruptcy court judge for the Southern District of New York has approved a reorganization plan clearing the sale of satellite company OneWeb to the U.K. government and Bharti Global, SpaceNews reported Thursday.
The reorganization plan does not conclude the sale of OneWeb but permits the company to proceed with the deployment of 650 satellites in low-Earth orbit for its satellite network meant to provide broadband internet service and resume other business operations.
OneWeb said it expects the sale to close by the end of the year, pending customary regulatory approvals, as it works to begin offering commercial services in 2021.
Hughes Network Systems agreed in July to make an in-principle investment of $50M in a consortium with the U.K. government and Bharti that offered $1B to acquire OneWeb, which filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March.