INTUITIVE Machines said on Friday (Sep 16) it plans to go public in the United States through a blank-check merger that values the space technologies provider at more than US$1 billion.

Nine-year old Intuitive is 1 of Nasa’s contractors and its lunar payload delivery services were selected by the space agency for 3 lunar missions to send the first American spacecraft to the surface of the Moon since the Apollo Program.

After Intuitive’s merger with special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Inflection Point Acquisition, the combined firm will have an enterprise value of nearly US$815 million, the companies said in a statement.

The SPAC had raised US$300 million in an initial public offering last year and said it intended to target a North American or European business in the consumer and technology sectors.

Houston-based Intuitive’s decision to go public comes at a time when the frenzy around listings through the SPAC route have wound down after nearly 2 years of immense popularity. A SPAC typically sells shares at US$10 apiece, puts the cash in a trust account, and then searches for a company to buy.

Inflection holds nearly US$330 million of cash in a trust.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

The combined company has secured US$55 million of capital from entities affiliated with Inflection Point’s sponsor and an Intuitive founder, in addition to a US$50 million equity facility provided by CF Principal Investments.

It will list on Nasdaq under the name Intuitive Machines Inc, with the deal expected to complete in the first quarter of 2023.

JPMorgan Securities and Cantor Fitzgerald are serving as the financial advisors to Intuitive and Inflection, respectively. REUTERS