A rendering of Lynk’s satellite-to-cell concept. Photo: Lynk Global

Satellite-to-cell company Lynk Global officially plans to go public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger with a blank check company led by baseball star and entrepreneur Alex ‘A-Rod’ Rodriguez.

Lynk and Slam Corp. SPAC announced Monday they entered into a definitive business combination agreement to merge. The boards of directors of Lynk and Slam have each approved the merger, which is expected to close in the second half of 2024. The combined company will operate as Lynk Global Holdings and its common stock is expected to be publicly listed on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LYNK. The transaction values Lynk at a pre-money enterprise value of $800 million. 

“We are thrilled to announce this business combination agreement, which positions the combined company to capitalize on the massive, $1 trillion mobile wireless market as Lynk solves a core problem for the more than five billion cell phone users around the globe today,” commented Rodriguez, Slam CEO. “The combined company is set to deliver Lynk’s innovative, patented technology to areas that need it most and connect the more than two billion unconnected people worldwide.”

The companies announced a letter of intent for the deal in December. After the announcement, a number of Slam shareholders opted to redeem their shares, pulling $176 million out of the blank check company’s funds, according to SEC filings. The balance in the account after those transactions was approximately $98.6 million. 

Lynk said it has engaged BTIG, LLC to raise additional capital ahead of the closing of the business combination. The anticipated financing will be used to produce more satellites, secure launches, and support satellite design and operations to continue to develop Lynk’s constellation. 

“Through our proposed business combination with Slam, we believe Lynk will be well-positioned to raise capital through several avenues. The capital we intend to raise will accelerate our growth as we execute our plan to launch many more cell-towers-in-space,” commented Lynk CEO Charles Miller. 

Lynk has three satellites in orbit that can connect directly with unmodified phones. The company has demonstrated two-way voice calls over satellite. It has commercial agreements in place with more than 35 mobile network operators for initial use cases with SMS, IoT, and mass notifications. 

Lynk provided an update on its constellation deployment and revenue expectations in an investor presentation in SEC filings. The company expects to have 21 satellites in orbit by the end of this year. It expects to generate $10 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2025, and to generate $72 million in revenue in 2025 once it starts its seamless messaging service. The company expects to have service with 32 MNOs in operation by the end of 2025.