Space startup Momentus to go public at $1.2 billion valuation via blank-check merger

[October 07, 2020]  (Reuters) - Space transportation company Momentus Inc said on Wednesday it will go public through a merger with blank-check firm Stable Road Acquisition Corp <SRAC.O> in a deal valued at $1.2 billion including debt.

As part of the deal, Momentus will get $172.5 million from Stable Road and $175.0 million from other private equity investors.

The California-based startup sells in-space shuttle services that help move satellites between orbits. The combined company will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbol "MNTS" after the deal closes.

A blank-check firm, also known as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), is a shell company which raises cash in an IPO with the goal of buying an unidentified private company, usually within two years, in a deal which would then take the acquired company public.

This year, a number of companies have preferred to go public through the SPAC route, as opposed to a traditional IPO.

Once confined to the backwaters of capital markets, SPACs emerged this year as a major driver of IPOs, led by splashy deals for the likes of space tourism company Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc and fantasy sports and gambling company DraftKings Inc.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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