Alex Rodriguez’s blank-check firm announced plans to merge with satellite communications provider Lynk Global in a deal worth at least $800 million.
Rodriguez’s special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Slam Corp., signed a letter of intent to merge with Lynk, Bloomberg reported ahead of the companies’ joint press release issued Monday.
The combined company is expected to be listed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq stock index sometime in the back half of 2024, per the statement, marking the first time the former New York Yankee is executing a public merger of this kind with his $430 million SPAC, which had its own initial public offering in 2021.
Once the IPO is complete, Lynk will be listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “LYNK” and “LYNKW,” respectively, and valued “at no less than $800 million.”
After the announcement Monday morning, Slam Corp.’s stock remained relatively flat in early trading hours, at $10.85.
Virginia-based Lynk Global was founded in 2017 to develop a satellite constellation — a so-called “cell tower in space,” per the company’s website — that aims to provide direct-to-standard phone connectivity worldwide.
For reference, only 10% of the planet is serviced by cell towers, meaning 90% is in “coverage black spots” without the resources to build and operate traditional ground-based cell towers, according to Lynk.
Rodriguez, Slam’s CEO, said that the deal with Lynk “is a perfect fit for our investment criteria.”
“We are impressed by its innovative technology and proven ability to scale. The Combined Company is positioned to make a tremendous global impact, potentially providing broadband access to billions of people currently underserved by a lack of mobile connectivity,” the 48-year-old former Yankees slugger added.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has a similar mission with its own satellite internet constellation operation, Starlink, which was denied last week of nearly $900 million by the Federal Communications Commission for “failing to demonstrate that it could deliver the promised service.”
Starlink, however, maintains on its site that its more than 5,500 satellites currently in low Earth orbit “deliver broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls and more … to users all over the world.”
The company reportedly has plans to deploy as many as 12,000 satellites in the near future, and 42,000 in the coming years.
Starlink makes for tough competition for Lynk, which has launched three commercial satellites since 2022 and as recently as Thursday completed Canada’s first satellite-to-mobile call with one of its Canadian partners, Rogers Communications Inc.
According to a press release following the successful phone call, Rogers said that it planned to begin implementing Lynk’s technology in 2024, “starting with SMS texting, mass notifications and machine-to-machine AI applications, and then expand the service to include voice and data services quickly thereafter.”
Representatives for Slam Corp. and Lynk Global did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Rodriguez’s SPAC has said that it seeks out targets in the media, entertainment, health and wellness and consumer technology sectors.
In 2021, Slam was in talks with sports card maker Panini SpA, though the deal fell apart shortly thereafter, Bloomberg reported at the time. Panini SpA reportedly lost exclusive licenses related to the National Basketball Association and National Football League, which contributed to the deal’s downfall, per the outlet.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
