A new space-bound special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) is preparing for takeoff on the initial public offering (IPO) launchpad.
On August 24, Mission Control Acquisition Corporation submitted its S-1 filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Listing under the ticker “MISN”, the firm set terms with a price at $10 per unit, at 10 million units, equivalent to a $100 million deal. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-half of a redeemable warrant.
The Delaware, blank check company did not announce a timeframe for the launch, stating to go public “as soon as practicable.”
As a SPAC, Mission Control will use the funds raised through its IPO to acquire an as yet unspecified space-focused firm. After identifying and taking over a suitable target firm, it plans to “further accelerate the growth of a company in the aerospace and defense services industries, and contributing to the global space economy,” as per its prospectus.
Unlike most current SPACs, which allocate just 12 months to pull off a business combination, Mission Control has given itself 18 months plus the option to extend and additional six months.
Rising star
At the helm of Mission Control is CEO Kira Blackwell, a former iTech Program Executive at NASA who brings decades of experience in both the private and public sectors. iTech is responsible for seeking out new tech with Earth applications that aid Moon and Mars exploration.
The firm claims Blackwell’s unique experience at the frontier of space tech, combined with the talents of CFO Jeffrey DeWit and COO Andrew Allen, positions them well to execute a profitable strategic takeover.
If the team taps a key growth source, it could prove a lucrative venture – the space economy is tipped to expand into a whole new dimension.
The space market almost doubled between 2010 and 2022 and could double again in size this decade. According to forecasts by McKinsey and the World Economic Forum, the industry could be worth $1 trillion by 2030. Driven in part by macro trends related to climate change, geopolitical rivalry, and space mining, among others, space activity is again becoming a key focus for governments and businesses across the globe.
Space for more SPACs?
Recent years have seen SPACs emerge from relative obscurity and into the investing limelight. In the decade to 2019, there were never more than 60 SPACs in any given year, per SPAC Analytics. Yet strategic acquisitions started trending on Wall Street during the pandemic. SPACs surged through 2020, reaching their zenith in the IPO blockbuster 2021, which saw over 600 SPAC deals.
Yet SPACs as a deal type have been languid this year, as has the IPO market in general.
Mission Control marks the second SPAC filing for this month and only the 22nd for 2023.
This year is the first year since the pandemic that SPACs have not made up a majority of IPOs. Whereas in 2020, 2021, and 2022, SPACs made up 55%, 63%, and 75% of deals, respectively, this year, they have represented just 48% of new public offerings.
