Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) has announced that it has acquired holdings in ICEYE Oy and D-Orbit SpA from Seraphim Space LP as was set out in SSIT’s IPO prospectus. SSIT agreed to acquire four assets from the Seraphim Space Fund in exchange for new ordinary shares in SSIT and these two acquisitions represent the final of those transactions to complete.
About ICEYE Oy
ICEYE Oy operates the world’s first and largest constellation of miniaturised satellites that use radar to image the Earth both during the day and night, even through cloud. SSIT says that ICEYE’s radar technology has the ability to monitor change in near real-time with unrivalled sensitivity and at a global scale. It says that the unique insights this data provides holds enormous potential to help combat some of the world’s most pressing problems, including climate change. For example, ICEYE’s data is used by customers, including governments, to track illegal deforestation in the Amazon and insurance companies to respond quickly to natural disasters such as floods.
About D-Orbit Spa
According to SSIT, D-Orbit is the market leader in the space logistics and orbital transportation services industry. It says that D-Orbit’s multi-purpose ‘ION’ satellite carrier spacecraft is the only space logistics solution currently available that offers a flexible, cost-effective in-orbit ‘last mile’ delivery solution that guarantees satellite deployment in requested orbits and reduces customers’ time from launch to revenue generation.
After delivering its customers’ satellites to their destinations, the ION spacecraft are then able to undertake a range of additional secondary in-orbit applications that include cloud infrastructure for space-based edge compute / data analytics, data storage and relay communications. Additional applications which are anticipated to accelerate the growth and development of the expected trillion-dollar in-orbit space economy include space debris removal and satellite servicing. D-Orbit is also the first space company worldwide to be a certified B Corporation, reflecting that its purpose-driven mission benefits all stakeholders.
The transaction
In accordance with the agreement entered into at the time of the IPO, SSIT has acquired for cash shares in ICEYE and D-Orbit for £28.1m and the partners of the Seraphim Space Fund have used substantially all of this cash (net of tax) to subscribe for 27,255,074 new ordinary shares in the Company at a price of 100p per share. As a result of this issue, SSIT now has 239,384,928 ordinary shares in issue (there are no shares held in treasury).
Comments from Will Whitehorn, Chair of Seraphim Space
“SSIT now has exposure to 21 SpaceTech companies uniquely positioned to drive changes and improve our day to day lives. ICEYE, in which the Company made an additional investment earlier this month, and D-Orbit, the pioneering logistics and infrastructure provider, are welcome and exciting additions to our portfolio.”
Comments from Mark Boggett, CEO of Seraphim Space (Manager) LLP
“We are delighted to complete the transfer of these final two assets to theCompany’s portfolio. We have done everything we had set out to do at the time of the IPO and have also invested in a variety of new portfolio companies that are rapidly transforming the SpaceTech sector to provide solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems.”