Rocket Lab buys Iridium in $8 billion deal, to expand beyond launches

Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images Rocket Lab said ​on Monday it would acquire satellite communications provider Iridium Communications in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $8 billion, marking one of the biggest consolidation moves in the commercial ⁠space industry. Iridium shareholders will receive $27 in cash as ⁠well as 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%. 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. Rocket Lab's first purchase of a ⁠publicly traded company is also its largest deal, following a series of smaller acquisitions aimed ‌at expanding its spacecraft-manufacturing and components business. The acquisition, Rocket ‌Lab said, would help it sidestep three "big challenges" to building a satellite communications business: access to spectrum, the long lead time to deploy infrastructure before generating revenue, and the ⁠years required to build a customer base and recurring cash flow. "We've found ⁠a shortcut," the company said in an investor presentation. …