Ropes & Gray Advises Astra to Become the First Publicly-Traded Space Launch Company on NASDAQ

Ropes & Gray advised Astra in its merger with Holicity Inc., a special purpose acquisition company, that will result in Astra becoming the first publicly-traded space launch company to be listed on the NASDAQ. The transaction was announced on Feb. 2. The press release is here.

The transaction reflects an implied pro forma enterprise value for Astra of approximately $2.1 billion. Upon closing, the transaction is expected to provide up to $500 million in cash proceeds, including up to $300 million of cash held in the trust account of Holicity and an upsized $200 million PIPE led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.

The Ropes & Gray team that advised Astra was led by mergers & acquisitions partner Carl Marcellino (New York), and included mergers & acquisitions partner Paul Tropp (New York), tax partner Elaine Murphy (Boston), mergers & acquisitions partner Regina Sam Penti (Boston), senior employment, executive compensation & benefits attorney Pascal Mayer (New York), and employment, executive compensation & benefits partners Renata Ferrari (Boston) and Loretta Richard (Boston).