Seraphim Space, the London-listed investment company focused on commercial space technology, has announced plans to raise up to \u00a3350 million to capitalise on a booming space market.<\/p>\n
The company said the fundraising, one of the largest by a UK\u2011listed investment trust, was to take advantage of a \u201ccritical inflection point\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecent developments have caused a significant cost reduction in access to space, with lower satellite and launch costs \u2014 there are few parts of the global economy that will be unaffected by space,\u201d the company said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSpaceTech\u2019s accelerating growth is being driven by global security concerns<\/a>, desire for climate sustainability and the search for the next generation of infrastructure for telecoms and artificial intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n The fundraising will be conducted by the issuance of C shares, a separate class of shares that allows the company to raise money without hurting the performance of people who already own the stock. The C shares, valued at \u00a31 each, will convert into ordinary shares at periodic intervals.<\/p>\n Retail investors will be able to participate through RetailBook, a retail investment platform, while there will also be a placing to institutional investors. The retail offer is expected to close on May 6.\u00a0<\/p>\n The company said the extra capital would strengthen and expand Seraphim Space Investment Trust\u2019s portfolio through deployment into a pipeline of investment opportunities.<\/p>\n Seraphim Space floated on the London Stock Exchange in July 2021 at 100p a share. The shares, which have risen by about 85 per cent since the start of the year, closed down 22\u00bdp, or 10.1 per cent, at 200p on Monday.<\/p>\n The company has invested in 45 space technology companies since its creation, many of which are now later-stage or public companies. Nine are worth more than $1 billion, so-called unicorns, while five other companies have been listed on the London Stock Exchange.\u00a0<\/p>\n Seraphim\u2019s largest holding is ICeye, a Finnish satellite communications company which comprised 39 per cent of the fund\u2019s net asset value at the end of last year. In December, ICeye was valued at $2.4 billion. HawkEye 360, a space analytics company which accounts for around 10 per cent of the company\u2019s portfolio, filed to go public in the United States this month, also targeting a valuation of up to $2.4 billion.<\/p>\n Joachim Klement, head of strategy at Panmure Liberum, said: \u201cThe company is one of the star performers in the alternative closed-end fund space and in our view has a bright future with a long growth trajectory in one of the most exciting areas for venture capital at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n