$44.180
+0.424 (+0.96%)At close
IRDM News
IRDM Events
Rocket Lab's Acquisition of Aireon Contributes $103.9M EPS Growth
The increase in EPS was primarily the result of the $103.9M gain related to the acquisition of Aireon, included in the company's condensed consolidated statements starting in Q3. Reports Q3 revenue $245.7M vs. $226.94M last year. "Last month's stockholder approval for Rocket Lab's acquisition of Iridium was an important milestone in creating a next generation space powerhouse," said Matt Desch, CEO. Desch continued, "The combination of these two leading space companies will unlock new innovation in the space industry and accelerate our growth in critical space-based missions."
Rocket Lab to Acquire Iridium as Shareholders Approve Merger
Iridium (IRDM) stockholders have adopted the agreement and plan of merger under which Rocket Lab (RKLB) will acquire Iridium. Approximately 99.6% of the votes cast were voted in favor of the transaction, representing approximately 81.0% of Iridium's outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote. Under the terms of the transaction, Iridium stockholders will receive $27.00 in cash and a number of shares of Rocket Lab common stock calculated pursuant to an exchange ratio, subject to a collar, for each share of Iridium common stock outstanding at closing. The transaction has a notional value of $54.00 per share of Iridium common stock. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-2027, subject to the remaining required regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Rocket Lab Completes Financing for Iridium Acquisition
Rocket Lab (RKLB) has completed several milestones to fully finance its pending acquisition of Iridium Communications (IRDM). Rocket Lab has completed its At-The-Market share sale, raising approximately $1.944B in gross proceeds through the issuance of 29.3 million shares. Rocket Lab intends to use the net proceeds from the ATM Program to fund cash payments under the Iridium acquisition. If the company does not consummate the Iridium acquisition or if it has excess proceeds from the offering of shares under the ATM program, the company intends to use the net proceeds to fund future growth and for general corporate and working capital purposes. On September 15, Iridium entered into an amendment to its existing term loan facility for its outstanding $1.775B term loans to obtain consent from the requisite lenders to, among other things, amend the definition of "Change of Control" under the credit agreement to carve out Rocket Lab's pending acquisition of Iridium. Rocket Lab USA, the company's primary operating subsidiary and anticipated parent company of Iridium, will provide an unsecured guarantee of the Iridium Term Loan upon the closing of the Iridium acquisition. The company also terminated its $3.6B debt commitment for a senior secured debt bridge facility it had entered into in connection with the Iridium Acquisition merger agreement on June 28. The acquisition of Iridium is expected to be completed in mid-2027.
SoftBank Plans Up to $20B Bond Offering for Refinancing
Funding momentum in AI infrastructure and next‑generation interfaces continues, with Groq and Wispr AI both securing major rounds that push their valuations deeper into unicorn territory.This week's private company news:SoftBankis talking with investment banks about a potential $10B-$20B bond offering to help refinance a loan for itsinvestment in OpenAI, Bloomberg's Laura Benitez and Janice Huang. Proceeds from the sale would partly be used to repay a $40B bridge loan secured earlier this year for its OpenAI investment, and also for other AI investments, according to people familiar with the matter. The offering could be denominated in dollars and euros and could come as early as September, the people add.Anthropicis preparing to pitch amore than $30T total addressable marketin its IPO, surpassing SpaceX's $28.5T estimate and underscoring the exceptionally ambitious growth expectations embedded in AI valuations, The Wall Street Journal's Corrie Driebusch. Anthropic could aim to raise as much as $100B in its offering and is aiming for a valuation of about $2%, the report says.Smart ring makerOurawants up to$3B in its IPOand is targeting avaluation of over $16Bfrom the public listing, Bloomberg's Bailey Lipschultz and Mark Gurman report, citing people familiar with the matter. The IPO could happen as soon as September, the authors note.Some of the biggest capital raises by private companies this week include:Groq– The company announced a $350M Series A fundraise, with the round led by Disruptive, with planned participation from Nvidia. The funding round values the company at $3.5B. This latest round, together with $650M raised in June 2026, brings recent funding in the company to $1B. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom.Wispr AI– The company has raised $280M in Series B funding at a $2B valuation, led by long-time investor and partner Menlo Ventures. They are joined by existing investors Notable Capital, NEA, Neo Ventures, 8VC, and MVP Ventures. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Meta Platforms, Alphabet, and Microsoft.Muon Space– The Mission Foundry for high-performance satellite constellations announced a $250M Series C led by Eclipse Capital, with participation from Galvanize, Google, Salesforce Ventures, Wellington Management, I Squared Capital, Woven Capital, Radical Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Activate Capital, ACME Capital, ArcTern Ventures, and Overlap Holdings. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Iridium, Spire Global, and Trimble.Starcloud– The company pioneering data centers in space has announced a $250M Series A extension funding round at a $2.3B post-money valuation. The round was led by Manhattan West. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Viasataand AST SpaceMobile.Emerald AI– The company announced it has raised $150M in an oversubscribed Series A financing at a valuation of $1.05B. Energize Capital and DCVC co-led the round. The round was led by Manhattan West. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Palantirand Amazon.Unicorns to watch this week:Halter– The cattle tech/AgTech company has significantly expanded its scale in 2026, raising $220M in a Series E at a $2B valuation, more than doubling its prior valuation. The company now has one million smart collars sold and is operating across three continents, with U.S. ranchers building 60,000 miles of virtual fencing using its system. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Zoetis.Decagon– The AI customer support agent company valuation has tripled to $4.5B following a $250M Series D led by Coatue and Index Ventures. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Salesforce, Freshworks, and HubSpot.Zama– The cryptography/blockchain infrastructure remains the first unicorn in the FHE space, with its Series B round establishing a valuation around $1B. The company continues to push encrypted computation and confidential smart‑contract infrastructure, making it one of the most closely watched cryptography startups in 2026. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Inteland AMD.Colossal Biosciences– The biotech "de-extinction" continues to attract major investor attention as it advances its synthetic biology platform and de extinction programs. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Ginkgo Bioworksand Twist Bioscience.Breeze Aviation Group– The company remains a private standout in U.S. aviation, expanding its fleet and underserved route strategy. Breeze continues to benefit from strong seasonal demand and its growing Airbus A220 footprint, keeping it in focus as a next generation low cost carrier. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Southwest Airlinesand JetBlue Airways.IPOs to watch:OPENAI– The company's CFO Sara Friar told employees that the AI lab "will be a public company in 2027," CNBC's Ashley Capoot and Kate Rooney report. In an all hands meeting, Friar told employees not to worry about rival Anthropic's IPO timeline. OpenAI confidentially filed its IPO prospectus with regulators in June, but it has not publicly disclosed its plans. "The IPO is not a finish line, it is a milestone, another fundraise," Friar told employees, according to two sources familiar with her comments. "We raised $122B in March, and that gives us flexibility."EvoAir Holdings– The company has filed for a firm commitment initial public offering of shares of common stock and anticipates that the initial public offering price of shares will be between $4.00 and $5.00 per share.Inspire Brands– The company announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. Inspire Brands expects to use the net proceeds of the proposed offering to repay outstanding indebtedness under its existing term loan facility and pay offering fees and expenses."Private Markets" is The Fly's recurring series of stories on the latest moves in the private sector, largest unicorn companies and initial public offerings to watch. Fly subscribers, add $PRIVATE to your portfolio for alerts on breaking news in the startup and venture capital space.
Rocket Lab's Antitrust Waiting Period for Iridium Acquisition Expired
Rocket Lab (RKLB) announced that the waiting period under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, in connection with its pending acquisition of Iridium (IRDM) expired at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on August 12. Rocket Lab also filed its statement on Form S-4 with the SEC related to the Iridium acquisition to register the Rocket Lab securities to be delivered to Iridium shareholders to satisfy the equity consideration at the closing of the transaction. The registration statement has not yet become effective, and the securities described in it may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. Rocket Lab further announced that on August 10, Rocket Lab and Iridium filed with the Federal Communications Commission applications seeking its consent to transfer control of Iridium's licenses and authorizations to Rocket Lab. As part of its financing strategy, Rocket Lab announced today that, together with Iridium, it intends to seek certain amendments to Iridium's existing term loan credit facility with an aggregate amount of $1.78B outstanding as of June 30, which would allow the Iridium facility to remain in place following Rocket Lab's acquisition, and which would reduce the company's debt commitments correspondingly at much more attractive rates than the bridge facility terms. Such amendments, if completed, will require the consent of lenders under Iridium's facility, and there is no assurance at this time that the Company will obtain such consents.
This page is for research only and is not investment advice. Models can be wrong. Past performance does not guarantee future results.