Rocket Lab to acquire Iridium in $8 billion space deal

Rocket Lab agreed to buy Iridium Communications in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $8.0 billion, moving the Long Beach, California, rocket maker into direct ownership of a global satellite network and its licensed spectrum. The companies entered into an agreement and plan of merger on June 28, and expect the transaction to close in mid-2027, pending shareholder approval and regulatory clearances.

Under the terms, Iridium shareholders will receive $54 per share in total consideration, including $27 in cash and Rocket Lab stock. CNBC said the offer represented a 24.1% premium to Iridium’s last close. Rocket Lab secured commitments for a $3.6 billion bridge loan from Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo to help finance the cash portion of the transaction.

The deal is Rocket Lab’s largest to date and its first purchase of a publicly traded company. It also takes the company far beyond launch and spacecraft manufacturing into the harder economics of operating a communications network with recurring revenue, a subscriber base and global coverage. Rocket Lab said the acquisition gives it immediate exposure to Internet of Things services, direct-to-device communications, positioning, navigation and timing, and safety-of-life services.

Iridium brings the assets that have kept satellite communications businesses difficult to build from scratch. The McLean, Virginia-based company operates 66 interconnected low-Earth-orbit satellites and keeps 14 in-orbit spares, serves more than 2.5 million subscribers and works with more than 500 partners. It has more than 25 years in the satellite industry, generated strong free cash flow in 2025, and supports shareholder returns through a buyback program authorized up to $1.5 billion through 2027 and a quarterly dividend program launched in 2023.

The combination is being pitched as a vertically integrated space company with launch, manufacturing, network infrastructure and spectrum under one roof, a structure that puts Rocket Lab in a more direct challenge to SpaceX and Starlink. The strategic logic is clear: owning satellites and spectrum can spare Rocket Lab years of network buildout and customer acquisition. The tougher question is whether a larger, more integrated company can truly narrow the gap with SpaceX’s scale or whether the deal mainly entrenches a market with only a few viable players. Investors initially leaned toward the first view, with Rocket Lab shares rising about 9% in premarket trading and Iridium jumping about 20% on the announcement.