TAMPA, Fla. — Space startup investor Seraphim Capital’s investment trust aims to raise up to 180 million British pounds ($250 million) by listing shares on the London Stock Exchange.
The initial public offer (IPO) for retail investors will close July 9 at the latest, Seraphim Space Investment Trust said June 22 in its offering prospectus.
The company plans to use proceeds to buy stakes in space technology startups worldwide, including the investments Seraphim Capital has made in 19 ventures.
It aims to initially buy 15 of those seed assets — investments in startups including space-based cellular network operator AST SpaceMobile — soon after a successful IPO this summer.
Stakes in the remaining four ventures — satellite data specialist Spire Global, quantum encryption firm Arqit, Earth imaging operator Iceye and space logistics firm D-orbit — are set to be acquired by Dec. 31, depending on the outcome of their ongoing fundraising activity.
Buying the remaining four seed assets will increase the potential value of its portfolio by 70 million British pounds to 100 million British pounds, according to the company.
It said trading on the public market gives more investors the opportunity to invest in the space industry, which it predicts will grow from about 3,700 in-orbit satellites to more than 100,000 over the next decade.
“The economics of space have changed with the costs of building and launching a satellite having fallen by a factor of more than 100x since 2010,” it said in the prospectus.
“This paradigm shift is leading to the space sector being central to some of the megatrends that will reshape our world, helping to address some of the world’s most pressing problems and in the process helping to unlock US$ trillions of value.”
It will issue up to 180 million shares through the IPO at 100 pence each.
Seraphim Capital unveiled plans June 11 for the world’s first listed space technology fund.
Its definition of space technology businesses includes electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) companies and others that address, are derived initially from or potentially benefit the space sector.
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