York Space Systems raises $629M in public offering

York Space Systems has collected $629 million in its upsized initial public offering, a figure at the higher end of what the small satellite manufacturer was looking to fetch from investors.

Shares in York closed down 1% to $33.61 in their trading debut Thursday, when they opened up 11.7% from the original $34 price. The S&P 500 closed down 0.1% on negative sentiment surrounding Microsoft's fiscal second quarter results

York sold 18.5 million shares, up from the original plan to offer 16 million shares at a price range of $30-to-$34.

Based on those figures, York achieved a valuation of $4.75 billion by tapping into the public markets for new capital to support its strategy. CEO Dirk Wallinger founded the company in 2012.

York got there after the IPO’s underwriters exercised their initial option to buy 2.5 million additional shares. The underwriters have since been granted a second, 30-day option to purchase up to 2.775 million more shares at the $34 price.

Much of the IPO’s proceeds will go toward growth initiatives and other general corporate purposes that could include building inventory, research-and-development and capital expenditures.

A major acquisition is also on York’s short-term agenda for after the IPO. York is conducting due diligence activities regarding the potential purchase of a key supplier, a move tentatively valued at $120 million in stock.

AE Industrial Partners, the private investment firm that acquired majority ownership of York in 2022, will hold 24% of the total stock post-IPO but retain more than half of the voting power on York’s board of directors.

For York, this iteration of its strategy as a public company is taking shape amid rising investor interest in space on expectations of higher spending in the Trump administration.

York undertook its IPO in the same year of other public offerings by Voyager Technologies and Firefly Aerospace, the latter of which is also controlled by AE Industrial post-IPO.

President Trump has put pressure on U.S. allies to increase their defense spending and one of his priorities is the Golden Dome missile defense initiative, which York highlighted in its filings ahead of the IPO.

York’s largest customer by far is the Space Development Agency, where the company holds contracts to build satellites for three tranches in SDA’s emerging missile warning constellation.

The company aims to apply its experience in that effort, called the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, for any potential future work arising out of Golden Dome.

Of course, the much bigger backdrop for York’s IPO includes the widely-reported plan at SpaceX to take that company public later this year. A SpaceX IPO would be one of the largest-ever in the history of the public markets altogether and certainly the space sector’s biggest.

Goldman Sachs LLC, Jefferies, and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as lead bookrunning managers for the proposed offering. J.P. Morgan and Citigroup are acting as joint bookrunning managers. Truist Securities, Baird and Raymond James are acting as bookrunners. Canaccord Genuity, Needham & Company and Academy Securities are the  co-managers.

Below is York CEO Dirk Wallinger on CNBC on Thursday.