Maxar Acquired for $6.4B

🚀 Maxar Acquired for $6.4B

December 16, 2022

The Space Scoop

Week Ended 12.16.2022

Happy Friday! It was quite the week on the news front as the Holidays approach. SpaceX's value is increasing again, Planet, Arqit and Satellogic provided business updates, AST SpaceMobile is partnering with NASA, Deep Space Acquisition withdrew its IPO, and Maxar was bought out by a PE firm. Lets dive in.

📈 Market Max-Q

S&P 500: 3,852.35  -2.1%NASDAQ: 10,705.41  -2.7%UFO: 19.91 +2.7%ROKT: 39.42 +2.3%ARKX: 12.34 -3.3%SSIT: 46.45 +2.4%MAXR: 51.93 +117.1%MYNA: 3.75 +2.7%SATL: 2.95 -30.4%SATX: 10.14 -48.7%1W return as of 4:00pm EDT.

🚀 Top Stories

1) SpaceX is reportedly eyeing a $140B valuation with a $77.00 per share tender offer.

  • The company had been discussing a range of valuation and share prices in recent weeks but ultimately decided upon $77 per share, which is a +10% valuation increase from the last funding round in July at $127B.

  • Bloomberg notes that "it couldn’t be immediately learned whether the company will seek to raise capital in a primary funding round at that valuation."

  • Tender offer - a bid to purchase some or all of shareholders' stock in a corporation. Tender offers are typically made publicly and invite shareholders to sell their shares for a specified price and within a particular window of time.

 2) There were off-cycle earnings reports and preliminary business updates this week, including Planet, Arqit and Satellogic. Highlights below: 

  • $PL 

    • Cash & Equivalents: $425M

    • Revenue: $49.7M, +57% YoY

    • Recurring Contract Value: 94%

    • Gross Margin: 50% vs. 34% YoY

    • Net Loss: $(40)M vs. $(41)M YoY

    • Adj. EBITDA: $(12)M vs. $(12)M YoY

    • Shares: -5.4%

    • Sidenote 1: $PL said it expects $188-192M in revenue this fiscal year, which is within range of the $191M it predicted in its 2021 SPAC presentation. +1 for the good guys..

    • Sidenote 2: $PL announced the acquisition of climate startup Salo Sciences for an undisclosed amount.

  • $ARQQ

    • Announced Q4'22 earnings and that the firm "no longer needs to build or operate quantum satellites." Details:

      • Plans to sell its quantum satellite currently under construction

      • Will build no further satellite infrastructure

      • Intends to license its quantum satellite IP

    • Shares: -17.6%

  • $SATL

    • Monitor Revenue: +35% CAGR YTD

    • Business Plan: fully funded, debt-free for 2023 

    • Adj. EBITDA: Expected breakeven in 2024

    • Cash: $124M in 1H 2022

    • Fleet: Expanded to 26 operational satellites

    • Shares: -30.6%

 3) Maxar ($MAXR) has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Advent International in an all-cash transaction, valued at ~$6.4B.

  • The transaction represents a premium of +130% over Maxar’s closing stock price of $23.10 on December 15th. Shareholders will receive $53.00 per share in cash.

  • Jefferies equity research noted â€œthe deal points to the attractiveness and opportunities in space, which have been discounted by the public markets.”

  • Maxar will remain a US-controlled and operated company following close and has a 60 day 'go shop' period to find a better offer.

  • The transaction will support Maxar "to accelerate investment in and development of the Company’s satellite technologies and data insights for its customers" and also pursue "select, strategic M&A to further enhance the Company’s portfolio of solutions." 

🛰️ In Other News

Quantum Space Raises $15M Series A

The cislunar space vehicle startup received the full investment from Prime Movers Lab. The new capital enables Quantum to begin expansion of QuantumNet and to move forward with plans to launch the QS-1 mission in October 2024.

📊 Chart of the Week

Maxar ($MAXR) will soon no longer call the New York Stock Exchange its home. Let's take a look at the company's performance since going public:

  • Since Inception: -5%

  • Since Inception (pre-buyout): -57%

  • 2022 YTD: +74%

  • 2022 YTD (pre-buyout): -23%

🔗 Links

• AAC Clyde Space ($ACCMF) Wins $850K Subsystems Order From Intuitive Machines ($IPAX)• ZEP-RE and Planet ($PL) Collaborate on Drought Insurance Program in Africa• Satellogic ($SATL) Signs Letter of Intent With Mexico’s Space Agency• OneWeb Acquires 10,000 Hughes ($SATS) LEO Terminals• AST SpaceMobile’s ($ASTS) BW3 on Target To Deliver Space-Based Cellular Broadband• Spire ($SPIR) To Launch Six Satellites on SpaceX Transporter-6 Mission• Microsoft ($MSFT) and Viasat ($VSAT) Announce Partnership To Deliver Internet Access to Underserved Global Communities• Planet ($PL) Makes Its Geospatial Data Available Through Amazon ($AMZN) SageMaker• AST SpaceMobile ($ASTS) and NASA Sign Joint Agreement To Improve Spaceflight Safety• Space SPAC Deep Space Acquisition I ($DPAC) Withdraws $210M IPO• NewSpace Capital Announces First Closing of Its Space-Focused Growth Fund at €105M

🗣️ Opinion

• Invest in Space: The Final Frontier for Investors• The Legacy Space Theme Has Fared Well This Year. Will It Continue To Outperform?• Planet ($PL): Strong Revenue Growth, but Profitability Remains An Issue• Elon’s Twitter Dilemma• Maxar ($MAXR) Stock Soars +120%. Space Investing Is More Than SpaceX