TAMPA, Fla. — Lynk Global has agreed to a merger that would raise money for the direct-to-smartphone operator and list its shares on Nasdaq, the venture said Feb. 5 in a regulatory filing that details its revenue projections for the emerging market.
The deal with Slam Corp., a publicly traded shell company led by former professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez that has been hunting for an investment opportunity for three years, values Lynk at $800 million.
With three satellites in orbit providing intermittent connectivity to a handful of remote locations, Lynk sought the merger to fund a low Earth orbit constellation seeking to extend the reach of terrestrial mobile network operators beyond their cell towers.
However, it is unclear how much capital Lynk could raise by merging with Slam. The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) has less than $99 million in trust following investor redemptions since raising $575 million from its 2021 stock debut.
Slam’s investors will be allowed to recoup their investments from the trust before the merger closes, instead of taking a stake in the combined company.
The merger agreement is also tied to a net cash investment of at least $110 million. If this is not reached, New York-based investment firm Antara Capital has agreed to invest $25 million to help offset investor redemptions.
Lynk also seeks to raise around $40 million in a Series B funding round.
“Lynk is pursuing a number of avenues to raise capital,” Lynk vice president of government affairs Tony DeTora said via email.
“We anticipate that some of those avenues will provide capital to Lynk prior to the closing of the merger with Slam. We will use those funds to produce more satellites, secure launches, and support satellite design and operations.”
The companies anticipate closing the transaction in the second half of 2024.
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