The FCC cleared the EchoStar-SpaceX spectrum sale on May 12. [1] As of Wednesday's close, the deal still has no regulatory closing artifact — no 8-K announcing the share transfer, no filing confirming receipt of the SpaceX Class A stock, no AT&T-side statement on the AWS-3 spectrum re-allocation. [1] EchoStar Capital CEO Hamid Akhavan said in March, "We have a right to it, but we don't have that equity yet." [1] Day nine, the same sentence holds.
The paper's Tuesday standard on the spectrum sale put the structure at up to $11B in SpaceX Class A shares at $212 per share inside a $20B total deal. [1] Wednesday's reporting added pre-IPO color: SpaceX shareholders reportedly approved a 5-for-1 stock split; the company is targeting a June Nasdaq listing at a $2T-plus valuation; BlackRock has explored a $5-10B commitment. [1] EchoStar's own SEC filing warned that "investor expectations regarding our potential investment in SpaceX may be currently influencing our stock price." [1]
The stock is up nearly 500% over the past year. New Street rates EchoStar a Buy, calling it a "proxy play" on SpaceX. MoffettNathanson called the company a "space-themed hedge fund." [1] Either is a story about what SATS represents, not what it has filed.
-- THEO KAPLAN, San Francisco