First day trading and stock snapshot
NorthStar's first day as a public company was rough. By early afternoon, the shares were down as much as 45%. At 1:46 p.m. in New York, the stock changed hands at $4.35, which put the market value at $39.8 million.
What NorthStar does and who buys it
Based in Montreal, NorthStar says it tracks object locations and trajectories with satellites, image-processing tools, data analytics, and artificial intelligence to cut the chance of orbital collisions. Named customers include the Royal Canadian Air Force along with military organizations in North America and Europe.
Chief Executive Officer Stewart Bain captured the scale of the challenge this way: "200,000 times the size of all the oceans combined, and you want to know where all the fish are." He added, "Space is contested, congested, and needs to be more secure."
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Deal mechanics and the cash picture
NorthStar merged Thursday with the SPAC Viking Acquisition Corp. I, sponsored by KingsRock Advisors LLC, a firm created by former Deutsche Bank AG executives. The stock now trades under the symbol NSTR. The deal valued NorthStar at a pre-money $300 million and added a $30 million PIPE backed by Cartesian Capital Group LLC and other institutions. Bain said most public shares were redeemed before the merger, leaving only a small balance in Viking's trust account.
Why now and what to watch next
Bain said the listing aims to raise capital to construct a comprehensive space-based sensor constellation. He also noted that Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp. going public lifted sentiment across the industry, and added, "You don't pick your timing. You figure out how to ride the timing." To date, the company has brought in about $100 million in capital and forecasts it is on track to generate over $30 million of revenue in 2026.
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