Rocket-launch company Astra Space Inc. is considering selling a 51% stake in its in-space propulsion business, among other strategic sale options, according to people familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — Rocket-launch company Astra Space Inc. is considering selling a 51% stake in its in-space propulsion business, among other strategic sale options, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Alameda, California-based company would seek to value that unit at more than $100 million in that scenario, one of the people added. A second person said Astra is weighing the potential sale of various parts of its business, including its equipment, parts of its rocket factory and its in-space propulsion division.
No final decision has been made and Astra Space could opt to maintain its current structure, said the people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
Astra Space fell 2.2% to close at $1.31 in New York on Tuesday, giving the company a market value of about $24 million. It was valued at about $2.1 billion in the blank-check deal that took the company public 2021.
Astra Chief Executive Officer Chris Kemp declined to comment beyond referencing the company’s August announcement that it had hired investment bank PJT Partners to advise it on potential future financing activities, and to explore investments in Astra’s Spacecraft Engine business.
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 for customers, including a failed mission for NASA. It entered the satellite-propulsion business with the purchase of Apollo Fusion in 2021.
Last year, it 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, Astra said it would cut its workforce and that the first flight of Rocket 4 would likely be delayed.
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