Rocket Lab buys satellite pioneer Iridium for $8B – setting up showdown with SpaceX

Source: New York Post

Rocket Lab is buying Iridium Communications in an $8 billion cash-and-stock deal – equipping the rocket maker with a global satellite network and wireless spectrum in what looks like a bid to compete against Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The deal is the latest in a flurry of aerospace tie-ups involving satellite operators in the past year: Globalstar agreed in April to be acquired by Amazon. com, while Luxembourg-based SES completed its purchase of Intelsat last year.