🚀 Globalstar to the Nasdaq

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The Space Scoop

Week Ended 11.22.2024

Happy Friday! In a quieter press release week and pause from earnings barrage, Starship launch 6 took over our feeds. Another successful launch and progress towards making life multiplanetary. Lets dive in. 

Market Max-Q

Top Stories

1) Globalstar ($GSAT) is planning to transfer to the Nasdaq next year. 

• The telecom infrastructure and tech provider announced its plan to transfer its common stock listing from the NYSE American to the Nasdaq exchange, which is expected to take place in Q1 of 2025.

• In connection with this transfer, GSAT announced its Board of Directors authorized a to be determined reverse stock split to align trading fundamentals with peers, improve liquidity and attract greater investment participation from institutional investors.

• “This strategic decision ... reflects the exciting momentum and strong growth trajectory in our business. With these changes, we expect to enhance our visibility, attract a more diverse and institutional shareholder base, and improve overall liquidity. We expect will unlock value for our shareholders over the near and long-term,” said CEO Dr. Paul Jacobs.

• GSAT shares finished the week -1%.

2) DIRECTV announced the termination of the acquisition of EchoStar's ($SATS) video distribution business.

• On Thursday, DIRECTV terminated its Equity Purchase Agreement (EPA) agreement to acquire Echostar's satellite television business, which included rival Dish TV, over a failed debt-exchange offer.

• For the deal to close, DISH bondholders had to agree to exchange their debt for new debt in the merged entity at a discounted rate of ~$1.57B on debt.

• "While we believed a combination of DIRECTV and DISH would have benefitted all stakeholders, we have terminated the transaction because the proposed Exchange Terms were necessary to protect DIRECTV's balance sheet and our operational flexibility," said Bill Morrow, CEO.

• The termination of the DISH acquisition does not affect private equity firm TPG's acquisition of the remaining 70% stake of DIRECTV from AT&T ($T), which is expected to close in H2 2025. The deal would have created one of the nation's largest pay TV distributors with a combined 20M subscribers.

• $SATS shares were flat on the week, after dropping -8% on the news.

In Other News

The Exploration Company Raises $160M Series B 

(Satellite Today)

The startup building Europe's first reusable space capsule will use the capital to further develop its Nyx capsule, expand employee base, and scale capacity. The round was led by Balderton Capital and Plural, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital, French Tech Souveraineté, DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF) and Bayern Kapital.

Inversion Space Raises $44M Series A 

(BusinessWire)

The autonomous cargo re-entry startup will use the capital will be used to build its next-generation spacecraft Arc, which it plans to fly in 2026, and scale operations. The round was co-led by Spark Capital and Adjacent, with participation from Lockheed Martin ($LMT) Ventures, Kindred Ventures, and Y Combinator.

AeroVironment To Acquire BlueHalo for $4.1B 

(BusinessWire)

$AVAV will acquire the defense contractor focussed on unmanned vehicles in an all stock deal. The acquisition enables AeroVironment’s entry into key segments and strengthens multi-domain capabilities. BlueHalo estimates it will achieve $900M+ in revenues for 2024, along with a funded backlog of ~$600M. $AVAV shares finished the week down -2%.

Image of the Week

Starship Flight 6: There were only 37 days between test flight #5 and #6. Bravo! More where that came from as SpaceX is targeting up to 25 Starship launches next year.

(Source)

Links

• US Army Selects EchoStar’s ($SATS) Hughes To Deploy 5G Open RAN with RAN Intelligent Controller at Fort Bliss• Planet ($PL) & Global Fishing Watch Expand Collaboration for Ocean Transparency & Accountability• Northrop Grumman ($NOC) Declares Quarterly Dividend• Sidus ($SIDU) & Reflex Aerospace Sign Letter of Intent To Advance Dual-Use Satellite Development Across US and European Markets• Intuitive Machines ($LUNR) & Johns Hopkins APL Partner To Advance Safe, Secure, and Reliable Lunar Infrastructure• Blue Origin Completes 28th Mission to Space• Rocket Lab ($RKLB) Founder & CEO Becomes Billionaire with Recent Stock Move

Opinion

• Starships and Space Policy• Investors Betting on Space Growth Under Trump Administration• European Space Companies Seek More Competitive Government Contracts• Interview with Peter Beck (CEO of $RKLB)• BlackSky ($BKSY): Next-Gen Satellites Bring Opportunities and Risks• Rocket Lab ($RKLB): Why There’s More Fuel Left in the Tank

Earnings Calendar

• $PL: Dec 9 - After Market Close

*Company confirmed dates only.