(Bloomberg) -- Astra Space Inc.’s take-private deal with its founders has been finalized, the company said on Thursday, capping the rocket launch company’s descent from blank-check darling to delisting in three years.
The rocket launch company’s valuation peaked at $3.9 billion in 2021, the year it went public, and was worth about $12.2 million as of end-March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Under the terms of the deal, Astra said Chief Executive Officer Chris Kemp and Adam London, its technology chief, will acquire the company’s outstanding shares for 50 cents per share in cash, below the stock’s final ask price of 53 cents. It didn’t specify the overall transaction size.
The deal underscores Astra’s significant and rapid decline. Founded in 2016, Astra Space aimed to build small rockets to launch small satellites into space. However, the company has suffered from a string of development delays and in-flight launch failures, including one for NASA. It entered the satellite-propulsion business with the purchase of Apollo Fusion in 2021, with the goal of extending its launch and space services beyond low-Earth orbit.
In 2022, Astra announced plans to scrap future flights of its latest vehicle, Rocket 3.3, with the goal of developing a new, larger rocket called Rocket 4. In August 2023, the company announced plans to cut as much as 25% of its workforce and that the debut of its new rocket would be delayed. Astra received a delisting notice from Nasdaq in April after it was trading below $1 per share for thirty consecutive trading days.
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