For most of its life Rocket Lab has sold the picks and shovels of the space economy: small rockets, satellite buses, components for other people’s missions. It has now decided that selling the tools is not as valuable as owning the mine.
The company agreed to acquire Iridium Communications for about $8bn, paying $54 per share in a cash-and-stock deal that the two announced on 29 June.
Iridium shareholders will receive $27 in cash plus Rocket Lab stock set by an exchange ratio, and the transaction is expected to close in mid-2027, subject to Iridium shareholder approval and regulatory clearances. Rocket Lab’s shares jumped on the news.
What Rocket Lab is buying is not another manufacturing line. Iridium operates a global low-Earth-orbit constellation, holds valuable L-band spectrum, and serves a long-standing customer base across government, maritime, aviation, emergency response, and industrial markets, with a partner ecosystem the companies put at more than 500.
The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!That combination, a network plus the spectrum to run it plus the customers already paying for it, is the part Rocket Lab could not build quickly on its own.
