Having landed a space module on the moon earlier this year, Firefly Aerospace set its sights on the public equity markets with the public launch of a US$630m Nasdaq IPO.
Goldman Sach, JP Morgan, Jefferies and Wells Fargo are marketing 16.2m shares at US$35–$39 for pricing next Wednesday, August 6.
The aerospace and defense company is using the proceeds to fully repay US$136.1m of borrowings on a term loan, to pay US$67.7m of preferred stock dividends owed to existing shareholders, and to replenish cash levels to US$718.3m.
In March, Firefly successfully landed its Blue Ghost I lunar module on the moon, becoming the first private company ever to land on the moon. The company is planning a Blue Ghost II moon landing next year to carry supplies in support of a planned manned mission by NASA in mid-2027.
The IPO targets a fully diluted market capitalization of up to US$5.5bn, well above the $2bn valuation on a US$175m Series D private round completed in November last year.
Firefly’s largest shareholders are aerospace and defense-focused PE firm AE Industrial Partners with a 47.4% stake, Jed McCaleb’s Astera Institute (10.6%) and Firefly founder Thomas Markusic (9.7%).
As of March 31, Firefly had a backlog of US$1.1bn and had over 30 planned launches under contract. In the first quarter, the company reported a US$60.1m operating loss on revenue of US$55.9m.
Firefly recently expanded capacity at a production facility to allow it to make one of its Alpha rockets per month to support future launches.
Alpha is the only rocket in the small size category (1,000 kilograms) to reach orbit. Firefly is working with Northrup Grumman on a medium sized, reusable version of Alpha, called Eclipse, with launch tests beginning in early 2026.
Aerospace and defense IPOs have been well received this year, with missile/rocket propulsion specialist Karman (+129%), low earth orbit satellite builder Voyager Technologies (+36.5%) and military drone maker Airo Group (+129%) all providing solid gains for new investors.