On Friday, the space company Intuitive Machines announced it would go public via a SPAC (Special purpose acquisition companies), in a deal that values the venture at about USD 1 billion. The coalition with special purpose acquisition company Inflection Point is expected to close in the first quarter. Intuitive Machines would be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ‘LUNR’.

Co-founder and executive chairman of Intuitive Machines, Kam Ghaffarian, said that Intuitive Machines is excited to play a crucial role in providing technologies and services to establish long-term lunar infrastructure and commerce. The said deal aims to add as much as USD 338 million in cash to Intuitive Machines’ balance sheet. However, the same is dependent on shareholder redemptions.

Intuitive Machines is the latest space company to go public through a SPAC. The announcement has come after a pause in such deals. Many of those recently public stocks have taken a beating, with several down 50 per cent or more this year, as investors begin to view the once-hot SPAC frenzy as too risky.

Founded by Stephen Altemus, Kam Ghaffarian, and Tim Crain in 2013, the company has around 140 employees. Houston-based Intuitive Machines is completing its lunar program, providing lunar orbit delivery, lunar surface access, and communications at lunar distance.