TAMPA, Fla. — Satcoms equipment maker SatixFy started trading publicly Oct. 28 after its stock listing overcame waning investor interest in blank check mergers and the death of its co-founder and former CEO.
Israel-based SatixFy listed on the New York Stock Exchange following its merger with Endurance Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with no prior revenue.
SatixFy’s shares are trading under the SATX symbol on NYSE American, the NYSE’s exchange for small, high-growth companies.
The shares closed Oct. 28 at $29.39, up more than 40% from starting the day at $20.92.
David Ripstein, who became SatixFy’s CEO after Yoel Gat died from cancer a month after announcing the SPAC merger in March, said being a public company creates “significant value and transparency” for customers as it prepares for significant growth.
SPACs helped launch nine space companies to the public markets last year; however, their popularity among investors has faded following the lackluster performance of these stocks.
The capital space firms have been getting once these mergers wrap up has also dwindled as more SPAC shareholders ask for money back instead of shares in the combined company.
SatixFy has said it expects to raise up to $230 million in gross proceeds by merging with Endurance, which is backed by New York-based private equity firm Antarctica Capital.
Following adjustments to the merger that cut SatixFy’s valuation by more than half to $365 million to help push the deal through, the companies set up an agreement to sell shares up for redemption to an investment fund for later resale.
SatixFy plans to use proceeds from its SPAC deal to fund an aggressive sales strategy for the antennas, terminals, and modems it produces based on semiconductors developed in-house.
The emergence of broadband constellations in low Earth orbit (LEO) is “creating a massive opportunity for SatixFy’s next-generation technologies,” Ripstein said.
The company also recently announced plans to join a wave of space companies hoping to create a direct-to-smartphone satellite market.
SatixFy’s chips will “enable low power-usage and cost-effective” antennas for “space applications such as direct-to-cell to deliver broadband directly to handheld cellular devices,” according to Ripstein.
“We expect to play a key role in enabling the 5G satellite technologies of the future and expect this will become another strong market segment for SatixFy over time.”
In March, the company forecast revenues to soar from $22 million in 2021 to $374 million in 2026 on the back of expanding LEO constellations.
Its customers include British LEO broadband operator OneWeb, which plans to use terminals from SatixFy to provide Wi-Fi on planes.
Canada-based Telesat also plans to use SatixFy modems for the landing station antennas it will need to connect to its proposed LEO network.
The closure of SatixFy’s SPAC transaction leaves lunar lander developer Intuitive Machines as the only other space company with a SPAC merger in the works.
Meteorological intelligence startup Tomorrow.io and space logistics company D-Orbit scrapped their SPAC merger plans this year, citing challenging market conditions.
