Maxar Technologies Inc (NYSE: MAXR) surged more than 100% on Friday after Advent agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Maxar common stock for $53 a share in cash, which represents a premium of about 129% over Maxar’s closing stock price of $23.10 on Thursday.
“Today’s announcement is an exceptional outcome for stockholders and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, the value Maxar has created and the reputation we have built in our industry,” Daniel Jablonsky, chief executive of Maxar, said in a press release. “… As a private company, we will have enhanced flexibility and additional resources to build on Maxar’s strong foundation, further scale operations and capture the significant opportunities in a rapidly expanding market.”
The deal is an important valuation mark for space assets. The price gives Maxar an enterprise value that is roughly 3.7 times to sales. Shares of earth imaging companies Planet Labs (PL) and Blacksky Technology (BKSY) rose initially by about 10% and 4%, respectively. Planet stock was up more than 9% in midday trading, whileBlacksky stock had fallen back for a loss of about 1%.
Bloomberg reported it will raise more capital at a $140 billion valuation, up from a recent mark of $125 billion. That makes SpaceX worth more than Lockheed Martin (LMT).
