Astra (Nasdaq: ASTR) Founders Chris Kemp and Adam London have presented a proposal to the board of directors to take the space company private, offering to buy all the outstanding stock at $1.50 per share, CNBC reported Thursday.
According to a securities filing, the offer by Kemp, chairman and CEO of Astra, and London, the company’s chief technology officer, represents a premium of 103 percent to the closing price of $0.74 per share on Wednesday.
“We believe that Astra’s strategic objectives and business prospects will be best served as a private company,” Kemp and London wrote in a letter to the board. “Taking the company private while delivering a meaningful premium to current shareholders allows for the best interests of shareholders as well as the Company, its employees and its customers to be met.”
The two executives anticipate raising capital of between $60 million and $65 million to fund the transaction, which would value Astra at approximately $30 million, according to the report.
In February 2021, Astra agreed to merge with special purpose acquisition company Holicity as part of efforts to transform the launch services provider into a publicly traded company. Four months after announcing the SPAC merger, Astra moved to buy in-space propulsion systems developer Apollo Fusion.
