TAMPA, Fla. — Shares in Spire Global, the small satellite constellation operator, closed down 5.2% to $9.41 at the end of its first day as a public company Aug. 17.
The operator is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the “SPIR” ticker, after shareholders of special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) NavSight approved their merger.
Spire raised about $265 million in cash from the deal, falling short of the $475 million it projected when it announced the merger plans in March.
“We are excited about this next step in our journey,” Spire CEO Peter Platzer said.
“Now that Spire is a public company, dedicated to leveraging space to help our customers make the world a more equitable and sustainable place, we have the platform and resources to execute even more fervently on our mission.”
With more than 110 Lemur satellites in low Earth orbit, Spire provides data-gathering and analysis services across maritime, aviation, weather, climate and other markets.
The company plans to use proceeds from going public to invest in sales, marketing and product development operations to expand international market share.
It recorded $36 million in revenue last year and aims to generate $70 million in 2021, before reaching $1.2 billion in sales by 2025.
SPAC backlog
Spire’s public listing comes days after Momentus, the in-space transportation company, merged with a SPAC and started trading on Nasdaq Aug. 13 under the “MNTS” ticker symbol.
Momentus stock slipped 2.6% to $10.68 after the end of its first day as a public company. The shares closed at $9.67 Aug. 17.
Launch vehicle developer Astra and AST SpaceMobile, which is developing a cellphone-compatible satellite broadband constellation, also merged with SPACs and became public companies this year.
Several more space companies hope to follow in their footsteps in the coming months.
Shareholders of Vector Acquisition Corp. are due to meet Aug. 20 to vote on the SPAC’s merger with Rocket Lab, the launch services provider.
