Aerospace and defense company Ursa Major will go public in the United States through a US$2.3 billion deal with blank-check firm Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. III, the companies said on Tuesday.
The deal comes as defense technology startups and suppliers attract growing investor interest amid heightened geopolitical tensions and increasing demand for cheaper weapons that can be produced quickly, including drones, autonomous systems and the rockets and missiles used to counter them.
- The deal implies a pre-money equity valuation of about US$1.6 billion for Ursa Major and a post-transaction equity valuation of about US$2.3 billion.
- The transaction includes at least US$350 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) led by Inflection Point.
- The proceeds will accelerate the expansion of Ursa Major’s production capabilities across solid rocket motors, the HAVOC Missile System and liquid hypersonic engines, the companies said.
- Founded in 2015, the Berthoud, Colorado-based firm builds rocket engines, hypersonic systems and solid rocket motors for space exploration and national defense.
- Ursa Major has conducted more than 5,500 ground tests and 140,000 seconds of testing and its engines have powered more than a dozen successful hypersonic missions, according to the companies.
- Cantor is serving as lead financial advisor to Bleichroeder, while Moelis is exclusive capital markets advisor to Ursa Major.
(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru and Shivansh Tiwary; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)
