Rocket Lab struck an $8 billion deal to acquire satellite communications provider Iridium Communications on Monday, betting that owning everything from rockets to satellite networks will define the next generation of space companies.
The deal accelerates a long-time push beyond launch services by adding an established satellite network, globally coordinated spectrum and a customer base - capabilities that could have taken Rocket Lab several years and billions of dollars to build.
"We have a very profitable business being Iridium to start with, essentially a brand new constellation... And of course, the all-important spectrum," founder and CEO Peter Beck told Reuters.
Iridium shareholders will receive $27 in cash plus Rocket Lab shares, with a combined value of $54 per Iridium share - a 24.1% premium to the stock's last close. The deal is expected to close in mid-2027.
Rocket Lab shares jumped 12% in premarket trading while Iridium shares, which have more than doubled in value already this year, soared about 22%.
Founded by Motorola in the late 1980s, Iridium pioneered one of the world's first global low-Earth orbit satellite communications networks. It survived a high-profile bankruptcy in 1999 and reinvented itself as a profitable provider of communications services to government, aviation, maritime and industrial customers.
The acquisition combines Rocket Lab's launch vehicles and satellite-manufacturing business with Iridium's global L-band satellite network, licensed spectrum and more than 2.5 million subscribers spanning government, defense, aviation, maritime and commercial markets.
The strategy is similar to that of SpaceX and its Starlink unit, combining launch capabilities with satellite communications services. The Elon Musk-led company raised about $86 billion in the world's biggest initial public offering earlier this month and plans to expand its communications satellite business while developing orbital AI computing infrastructure.
Rocket Lab has secured commitments for a $3.6 billion bridge loan from Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo to fund the cash portion of the acquisition. The company said it also plans to use cash on hand alongside additional debt and equity financing.
