Adds details on capital increase, analyst's comment, share move from paragraph 4

By Gianluca Lo Nostro

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Eutelsat ETL.PA has appointed Sébastien Rouge as its new finance chief, the satellite operator said on Wednesday, weeks before it plans to raise fresh funding to help it compete with Space X's Starlink.

Rouge, currently finance head at minerals group Imerys IMTP.PA and previously CFO of semiconductor materials firm Soitec SOIT.PA, will take on the new role in February 2026.

He will replace Christophe Caudrelier, who is stepping down after three years, Eutelsat said.

Eutelsat, which has garnered attention from European governments seeking alternatives to U.S.-based satellite service providers, is in the process of raising 1.5 billion euros ($1.75 billion) as part of a capital injection led by the French government.

The capital increase is expected to ease the company's debt and help finance new satellites for its Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation, OneWeb, currently the only LEO network in the world besides Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Eutelsat hopes to attract more investors beyond its anchor shareholders, which include France's state shareholding agency APE and the British government.

"Christophe Caudrelier was well-appreciated," said Bernstein analyst Aleksander Peterc, adding that it was "a bit surprising to see him go literally weeks before the rights issue."

Paris-listed shares of Eutelsat fell 3.5% in early trading, the second-worst performer on France's SBF 120 equity index of major companies.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro. Editing by Matt Scuffham)

((gianluca.lonostro@thomsonreuters.com;))