Our Core Satellite & Space index was up +12% in December, outperforming the S&P 500 which saw a gain of +4% and the MSCI Global (ex.-U.S.) index which saw a gain of +4%.
Private equity financing activity was slightly up, with 10 financings in the month. M&A activity was down slightly compared the prior month (with two transactions) and there were two public equity financings.
EO and geospatial was active in the month. UAE satcom operator Yahsat announced its intent to merge with Bayanat, an AI-powered geospatial intelligence company. Meanwhile, Hawkeye 360 made its first acquisition, acquiring Maxar’s RF Solutions (previously Aurora Insight, originally acquired by Maxar in December 2022).
We also saw the first sector IPO of the year, with iQPS (Japanese SAR operator) raising $24M gross proceeds.
In mid-December, the FCC rejected SpaceX Starlink’s appeal to qualify for ~$900M in federal subsidies to provide connectivity to rural communities under the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program. You can visit Quilty Business Intelligence here to see one of our latest QuickTakes on this topic.