AUSTIN, Texas (New Providence Acquisition Corp.)–New Providence Acquisition Corp. (“New Providence”) (NASDAQ: NPA, NPAUU and NPAWW) today announced that its stockholders approved all proposals related to the previously announced business combination (the “Business Combination”) with AST & Science, LLC at a special meeting of stockholders held today. A Form 8-K disclosing the full voting results is expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The closing of the […]

Wall Street’s latest easy money craze has attracted a growing number of space companies. But, just because they can go public, should they?

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

Seven space companies have gotten caught up in the SPACovirus sweeping through Wall Street. The impact on the space industry is going to be interesting to watch.

A SPAC is a special purpose acquisition company. It’s a publicly traded investment firm that, with outside investors, acquires or merges with another company, and then takes the acquisition public under its own name.

– AST & Science LLC (“AST SpaceMobile”) is building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard mobile phones

– AST SpaceMobile to become publicly listed through a business combination with New Providence Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: NPA, NPAUU and NPAWW)

– Combined company to have an estimated post-transaction enterprise value of $1.4 billion and will become listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “ASTS” following expected transaction close in the first quarter of 2021

– Transaction to provide up to $462 million in gross proceeds, comprised of New Providence Acquisition Corp.’s $232 million of cash held in trust (assuming no redemptions) and a $230 million fully committed common stock PIPE at $10.00 per share, including investments from Rakuten, Vodafone, American Tower, UBS O’Connor and a broad base of financial institutions

• AST & Science LLC (“AST SpaceMobile”) secures necessary funding for first phase commercial launch of space-based mobile network.
• Project aims to transform mobile network coverage for the 49 largest countries in the equatorial regions – including Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Mozambique, Kenya, and Tanzania – from 2023.
• SpaceMobile will be the first space-based mobile network to connect directly to 4G and 5G smartphones without any need for specialized hardware.

TEXAS, LONDON, JOHANNESBURG – December 16, 2020 – AST SpaceMobile, in partnership with Vodafone Group, today unveiled plans to launch the first phase of its space-based commercial mobile communications service in 2023. The company has secured the necessary funding to take the venture to this next stage, which will cover the 49 largest countries in the equatorial regions.

• AST & Science’s space-based network will be the first to connect directly to 4G – and in the future 5G – smartphones without any need for specialized satellite hardware.
• Other investors include: American Tower; Cisneros; Samsung NEXT; and founder Abel Avellan.
• The new investment brings the total capital raised by AST & Science to US$128 million.

TOKYO, LONDON, TEXAS (AST & Science PR) – Rakuten and Vodafone have become the lead investors in a venture to extend mobile coverage to more people and devices across the planet, using the first mobile broadband network that will be broadcast from space.