Iridium Communications shareholders on September 24, 2026 approved Rocket Lab Corporation's roughly $8 billion cash-and-stock acquisition of the satellite operator, with about 99.6% of votes cast — representing roughly 81.0% of outstanding shares — backing the transaction at a special meeting of stockholders in McLean, Virginia.
Inside the vote
Under the merger agreement signed on June 29, 2026, Iridium shareholders will receive $54.00 per share, split into $27.00 in cash and Rocket Lab common stock, with the exchange ratio subject to a collar. The transaction remains subject to remaining regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, but Iridium chief executive Matt Desch called the ballot "an important milestone toward bringing together two companies with complementary capabilities."
Why Rocket Lab wants Iridium
The deal transforms Rocket Lab, best known for its Electron small launcher and its in-development medium-lift Neutron, into a fully vertically integrated space company. It gains Iridium's 66-satellite low Earth orbit constellation, globally licensed L-band spectrum and more than 2.5 million subscribers across government, defense, aviation and maritime markets. Founder Sir Peter Beck told analysts owning a revenue-generating constellation short-cuts the decade it typically takes to build recurring service income from scratch.
What's next
Both boards had already unanimously approved the deal in June, and it now moves into a final regulatory review before an expected mid-2027 close. Rocket Lab CFO Adam Spice separately told investors that up to 40-50% of the company's current space-systems technology has come from acquisitions rather than internal research, and signalled more M&A activity ahead as Rocket Lab positions itself against Starlink and other integrated LEO players.
Rocket Lab has spent the summer expanding across the space value chain, from adding new Space Force IDIQ contracts to booking dedicated launches for Kepler Communications. This week's Iridium vote arrives as the wider LEO comms market watches SpaceX Starshield deployments and the original June deal announcement gain momentum toward closing.
Reporting based on coverage from Rocket Lab Corporation, Iridium Communications, PR Newswire and GlobeNewswire.