TAMPA, Fla. — Seraphim said on June 6 that total early-stage space investments in its listed trust rose 1.4% to £201 million ($257 million), despite a hit from the discounted initial public offering of space debris removal venture Astroscale.
London Stock Exchange-listed Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT) announced in its financial results for the first three months of the year that Japan’s Astroscale sold shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on June 5th at a price roughly 40% lower than when it was privately placed at the end of last year.
As a result, SSIT has written down the valuation of its stake in Astroscale by nearly £4m, although its sub-5% stake in the venture still represents just 2.6% of the total value attributable to the trust’s investment portfolio.
The trust also wrote down the value of its stake in direct-to-smartphone satellite developer AST SpaceMobile by £1.2m following a fall in its share price in the three months to March 31. AST SpaceMobile’s shares have since rebounded after announcing a commercial deal with US telecoms company AT&T and are now up more than 92% since the start of the year.
“The issue price of Astroscale’s IPO was somewhat disappointing, but this enabled Astroscale to achieve an oversubscribed IPO,” said Mark Bogett, CEO of Seraphim Space.
Astroscale’s shares also soared immediately after the listing, and Bogett said his holding was close to its previous estimated fair value. The stock opened at 850 yen ($5.46) a share and closed at 1,375 yen on June 5, before falling to 1,101 yen the next day.
Still, Bogett said Astroscale’s IPO reflects continued public market demand for space-related companies and “we believe it bodes well for other portfolio companies considering their own IPOs in the coming years.”
Astroscale is SSIT’s fourth investment since the trust’s IPO in July 2021 and will go public either through a traditional IPO process like Japanese venture companies, or through a merger with a SPAC (special acquisition company), a shell company that lists on a stock exchange to seek investment.
| company | Share of Net Asset Value |
| Ice Eye | 20.2% |
| D Orbit | 14.8% |
| All Space | 10.7% |
| Hawkeye 360 | 9.5% |
| Leo Lab | 5.8% |
| Satellite Broadcasting | 4.8% |
| Zona Space Systems | 3% |
| Astroscale | 2.6% |
| Planet Watchers | 2.1% |
| Tomorrow.io | 1.8% |
SSIT said a $110 million funding round by Italian space logistics company D-Orbit in January and $19 million raised by Californian satellite navigation venture Xona Space Systems last month helped drive the company’s overall fair value increase.
SSIT said the impact of Astroscale on the total valuation of its portfolio was also offset by favorable foreign exchange rates and an increase in the valuation of its investment in Vienna, Virginia-based satellite constellation operator Spire Global due to the continued appreciation of the company’s share price.
The firm added that around 72% of the trust portfolio, measured at fair value, is funded for at least 12 months, with 61% fully funded.
In April, SSIT sold its stakes in all nine companies it had invested in since going public to Seraphim Space Ventures II, Seraphim Space’s new $100 million fund, which focuses on early-stage companies.
The trust has acquired £3.8m worth of shares in Seraphim Space Ventures II, reflecting the start-up’s value as assessed by an independent valuation firm.
SSIT chairman Will Whitehorn said the decision would allow the trust to focus its cash resources on more mature growth assets.
“We are increasingly optimistic about the portfolio’s outlook for 2024 and are satisfied that SSIT continues to have the necessary cash reserves to meet the expected capital needs of the portfolio over the coming year and beyond,” he said.
SSIT reported that it had cash reserves of £25.7 million as of 31 March.
