The space sector is changing almost at the speed of a high-powered rocket.
Among the numerous developments in the business recently, one in particular could make quite a difference: Rocket Lab’s (NASDAQ: RKLB) $8 billion deal for satellite telecom company Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM)
Rocket Lab is touting the acquisition as transformational. While there’s some degree of the usual corporate hype behind that assertion, it’s absolutely going to change the company. Here’s why.
Calling on a new asset At the end of June, Rocket Lab and Iridium agreed that Rocket Lab would pay $54 per share for Iridium in a mix of cash and stock. The deal has an enterprise value of around $8 billion. In a joint press release, the two companies said that this is a synergistic combination of Rocket Lab’s launch business and equipment manufacturing with Iridium’s low earth orbit (LEO) satellite network and related assets.