Space startup iRocket to go public via $400 million SPAC deal
SPAC deals, which cooled off after a surge in 2020-2021, have rebounded in 2025 amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and tariff-related challenges that have weighed on traditional initial public offering activity.
Small and mid-sized companies are increasingly seeing SPAC mergers as viable alternatives to conventional IPOs amid heightened regulatory constraints.
There have been 58 filings for SPAC IPOs on U.S. exchanges so far in 2025, according to data from Dealogic. That compares with 31 and 57 filings in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Crypto firm Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company, with over 30,000 bitcoins on its balance sheet, said it was aiming to list on Nasdaq through a merger with a Cantor Fitzgerald-backed blank check firm.
iRocket, founded in 2018, specializes in liquid oxygen and methane-fueled rocket propulsion technology, which encompasses a quick turnaround time to reload and relaunch, through its patented engine design.
Space startups have also seen a lot of interest from investors and venture capital firms, with the World Economic Forum predicting a $1.8 trillion space economy by 2035.
The company also noted the same number, citing a report by McKinsey, indicating it as a major opportunity for the rocket developer.
"iRocket's unique combination of proven engineering talent, reusable launch systems, and solid rocket motor capability positions the Company to capture a significant share of the global launch and propulsion market," said Wilbur Ross, the 39th U.S. Secretary of Commerce and a sponsor of BPGC.
The transaction, on which Cohen & Company Capital Markets advised iRocket financially, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The companies intend to list the merged entity on Nasdaq.
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