SERAPHIM SPACE INVESTMENT TRUST PLC
(the "Company" or "SSIT")
C Share Portfolio Investment in Hubble
Seraphim Space Investment Trust plc (LSE: SSIT), the world's first listed SpaceTech investment company, announces that it has made a $30 million (approximately £22.2 million) investment in Hubble Network, Inc. ("Hubble"), an existing portfolio company of Seraphim Space Venture Fund II ("SSVII"). The investment represents the first addition of a new portfolio company to SSIT using the proceeds of the Company's successful £137 million C Share issue.
Hubble is building the first satellite-powered Bluetooth network, enabling standard off-the-shelf Bluetooth Low Energy chips to connect directly to space without cell towers, gateways or custom hardware. By extending global connectivity to billions of existing Bluetooth-enabled devices, Hubble is seeking to unlock a broad opportunity set across asset tracking, logistics, supply chain management and industrial monitoring at an unprecedented scale.
The Company has now deployed more than £40 million of the C Share proceeds and, as a result, expects a partial conversion of the C Shares into Ordinary Shares to be triggered at the end of the current quarter.
James Bruegger, Chief Investment Officer of Seraphim Space Manager LLP, commented:
"We are delighted to have made this investment in Hubble, a company we know well through its development as a portfolio company of our latest early-stage venture fund, SSVII. As the first investment in a new portfolio company funded through the proceeds of our recent C Share issue, it marks an important step in the delivery of the strategy we outlined to shareholders at the time of the C Share issue earlier this year. The investment also takes deployment of the C Share proceeds beyond the £40 million threshold required for partial conversion, representing a further milestone in the execution of that strategy.
One of the key advantages of Seraphim's multi-stage investment strategy is our ability to identify promising companies early, support their development through our early-stage venture funds and, where appropriate, enable SSIT to invest in the subsequent growth rounds of the most exceptional performers.
Hubble is a compelling example of that strategy in action, having rapidly progressed from an early-stage investment to a growth-stage business with seven satellites in orbit, a terrestrial network of more than 100 million access points and significant commercial traction across multiple verticals. Having followed the company's development closely, we have developed strong conviction in both the business and the opportunity it is addressing and believe it is well positioned to become a category leader in the burgeoning direct-to-device satellite connectivity market."
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Seraphim Space Manager LLP (via SEC Newgate)
Mark Boggett, CEO / James Bruegger, CIO / Rob Desborough
SEC Newgate (Communications advisers)
Clotilde Gros / George Esmond / Harry Handyside / Natasha Humphreys
+44 (0) 20 3757 6767
Deutsche Numis
Nathan Brown / Vicki Paine
+44 (0) 20 7545 8000
J.P. Morgan Cazenove
William Simmonds / Rupert Budge
+44 (0) 20 7742 4000
Ocorian Administration (UK) Limited
seraphimteam@ocorian.com
Lorna Zimny / Birgitte Horn
+44 (0) 28 9078 5880
Hubble Network, Inc. is a US start-up building the first satellite-powered Bluetooth network, enabling standard off-the-shelf Bluetooth Low Energy ("BLE") chips to connect directly to space without cell towers, gateways or custom hardware. The company is seeking to provide low-cost, global connectivity and asset tracking for BLE-enabled devices.
Seraphim Space Investment Trust plc is the world's first listed investment company focused on SpaceTech.
The Company seeks exposure predominantly to growth-stage private financed SpaceTech businesses that have the potential to dominate globally and that are sector leaders with first-mover advantages in areas such as climate, communications, mobility, cyber security and intelligence.