A Spac in difficulty plans to buy Irocket for $ 400 million, but he has already returned most of his money

An unproven launch startup is associated with a seriously exhausted spac confidence to make the impossible: become public In an agreement, they say will be estimated at $ 400 million.

Innovative Rocket Technologies Inc. (IROCCHE) and BPGC Acquisition Corp., a vehicle company for special use founded by the former Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, aims to close the transaction to the fourth quarter of this year.

Interestingly, the SPAC was exhausted from most of its money after raising $ 345 million in its IPO in March 2021. According to a September 2024 depot With the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States, the SPAC had returned a large part of its money to the shareholders when it did not find any acquisition target by September 2024 and held $ 30.5 million in trust.

However, only 16 days later, the company reported in an 8-k that $ 28.8 million had been bought – leaving the trust on this date with only 0.5% of its original amount, or 1.6 million dollars. The remaining shareholders (mainly the sponsors of the SPAC) agreed at this time to extend the date to find an acquisition objective until March 2026.

The startup, Irocket, was at some point because it was supported by the venture capital company Village Global, which has billionaires like Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt and Reid Hoffman among its limited partners.

Even again, Irocket is a surprising target for an agreement to be made. The company has raised only a few million venture capital funds, according to Pitchbook, in an industry known to have a lot of capital. Since his foundation in 2018, he has not yet made a single test flight from his shockwave launch vehicle. At that time, it was overwhelmed by other companies, such as Stoke Space and Firefly, which are better capitalized and further in their material development.

The market also changed: in 2023, Irocket described Shockwave as being able to transport 300 kg to 1,500 kg, and this space has become crowded with vehicles such as the electron of the Alpha and the Roquette de Firefly, both which carried out useful charges of customers. If Irocket can prove the rest of its value proposal – complete reusction, rapid renovation and 24 -hour responsiveness – it could be very competitive, but it is a difficult series of objectives.

Startups based in New York lists only four employees, excluding members of the board of directors, on LinkedIn. Its contracts include an agreement of $ 18 million with the Air Force research laboratory and a contract of $ 1.8 million with the Space Force. A public relations company representing Irocket and the SPAC refused to answer Techcrunch questions.

The acquisition vehicle for special use has a checkered past. Operating under the name of Ross Acquisition Corp II, he tried to take the public biopharma company Apiroia Therapeutics in January 2023 but ended the agreement eight months later. After failing to carry out a transaction, the NYSE subsequently began to set up procedures against the SPAC last March.

RAC II changed its name to BPGC Acquisition Corp. And now until March 2026 to conclude an agreement.

But given the current cash reserves of the SPAC, if the existing shareholders of Irocket expect to be paid in cash for their equity, the two parties will have to attract a large part of the money of investors in investment in a tour (private public capital investment).