LONDON, UK: Seraphim Space Investment Trust PLC announced its intention to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the Premium Segment of the Official List of the FCA and to begin trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
The Company expects to publish a prospectus in the coming weeks, a news release said.
Seraphim Space Investment Trust will, pursuant to a sale and purchase agreement and conditional on a successful IPO, acquire 15 assets from the Seraphim Space Fund. The Company will, by virtue of the acquisition of the Initial Portfolio, have a portfolio which had an aggregate valuation of £26.1 million as at 31 May 2021.
Seraphim Space Investment Trust is a newly established closed-ended investment company, which will invest in a diversified international portfolio of early and growth stage Space Tech businesses.
Seraphim Space Investment Trust will be the world’s first listed Space Tech fund. The Company will be targeting annualised NAV total return of at least 20 per cent. over the long term.
The Company’s investment manager is Seraphim Space (Manager) LLP. Seraphim is the world’s No. 1 Space Tech investor, with unparalleled early access to companies that will shape a new economic revolution.
The Manager has been a leading global investor in the space sector since 2016 and has a proven track record investing in Space Tech with Seraphim Space LP (the “Seraphim Space Fund”), the world’s first venture capital fund to be focussed on new space technologies that is currently demonstrating an IRR of 31 per cent.
The Company will acquire a portfolio of 19 seed assets from the Seraphim Space Fund including, stakes in several unicorns such as:
– Arqit, a British-based quantum encryption company;
– Spire Global, a leading provider of satellite based global weather forecasting, maritime and aviation predictive analytics; and
– AST & Science, the first and only space-based cellular broadband network aiming to provide global 4G connectivity accessible to standard smartphones.
These assets will be purchased for cash and the existing investors in the Seraphim Space Fund will use that cash to subscribe for ordinary shares in the Company (“Ordinary Shares”) at 100 pence per Ordinary Share.
In addition to the issue of Ordinary Shares in connection with the acquisition of the seed assets, the Company is intending to raise new capital through the issue of Ordinary Shares to institutional investors and eligible UK retail investors by way of a Placing, an Offer for Subscription, Direct Subscriptions and an Intermediaries Retail Offer at 100 pence per Ordinary Share.
Will Whitehorn, Chair Designate of Seraphim Space Investment Trust plc, commented: “There is nothing short of an industrial revolution underway in the space sector. We see it every day; the exponential growth in the number of satellite launches and in the number of activities capable of being undertaken in space. Many of these activities are going to be crucial to managing our burgeoning population growth and achieving net zero emissions. These are very exciting times for the sector, with the UK further strengthening its position as a global leader in the fast-growing Space Tech market.
Space Tech is forecast to be a multi-decade, trillion-dollar investment market that has not previously been available through listed opportunities. We are excited to offer investors access to a diversified portfolio of some of the sector’s highest growth-potential companies.
Mark and his team of trailblazers at Seraphim have unrivalled expertise and an excellent track record of selecting investments with the potential to become the ‘unicorns’ of tomorrow. They have already broken boundaries by launching the world’s first fund for private investors focused on the emerging ‘New Space’ market. They are now doing the same for public market investors with the launch of the world’s first listed space investment trust.”
Mark Boggett, CEO of Seraphim said: “Satellites are already the bedrock of the global economy, powering everything from the location-based smartphone apps like Google Maps and Uber that we all rely upon, through to telecoms and transportation networks, agriculture, finance and even internet itself.
The importance of the space sector to all our futures has never been greater. Satellites have a critical role to play in addressing some of the biggest challenges of our times. The data captured by satellites can help us monitor and mitigate the effects of climate change and drive a more sustainable future. Likewise, it is the connectivity delivered from space that will enable the three billion people still without internet access to get online.
With the paradigm shift in the economics of space meaning it can now cost as little as $100,000 to build and launch a shoe-box sized satellite, the space sector is undergoing rapid growth. As new constellations of thousands of satellites start to come online, a new digital infrastructure in the sky is being developed, a platform from space to catalyse some of the mega trends that will change our world, in the process creating many billion dollar companies.
Our mission is to engage at an early stage with the sector’s most fearless entrepreneurs and support them in their quest to push back the boundaries of what is possible, helping transform our world for the better whilst capitalising on a trillion-dollar investment opportunity.”
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