- GeneralSPAC
- December 16, 2020
- 3 minutes read
AST SpaceMobile Nears Blank-Check Merger
AST SpaceMobile, a Texas-based company that’s looking to develop a space-based cellular broadband network, is set to merge with the…
AST SpaceMobile, a Texas-based company that’s looking to develop a space-based cellular broadband network, is set to merge with the blank-check firm New Providence Acquisition Corp, Bloomberg reports.
AST is said to have secured a $230 million private placement that largely came from its strategic partners, including Japan’s Rakuten, Vodafone, and American Tower Corp, to finance the merger.
The $230 million private placement would be in addition to the $200 million raised by New Providence in its IPO last year, summing up to $430 million that’ll be handed to AST from the reported merger, which is expected to value the combined company at $1.4 billion.
AST, a Texas-based company, is looking to provide broadband service for mobile phones via satellites in orbit. It’s similar to SpaceX’s Starlink project that has garnered much fanfare.
Still in the development phase, AST hasn’t delivered a working product yet. It has a strategic partnership with the telecom provider Vodafone to launch a commercial 4G service by 2023.
