SpaceX has filed a formal complaint at the Federal Communications Commission challenging Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM) conduct as regulators review Rocket Lab’s (NASDAQ: RKLB) pending $8 billion takeover bid.
Rocket Lab stock fell 6% to $63.82 on Friday, extending an already difficult week for the launch and space systems company heading into a critical shareholder vote.
The decline adds to Rocket Lab’s year-to-date losses, with the stock already down 3% through Thursday’s close before Friday’s regulatory-driven selloff.
SpaceX satellite policy associate Matthew Turk asserted that “Iridium’s well-documented history of anticompetitive attacks against its competitors and American consumers hangs as a cloud over the proposed transaction.”
Turk was careful to add that “SpaceX does not oppose the transaction,” while urging that “the Commission should carefully evaluate whether Iridium’s conduct is in the public interest.”
SpaceX also noted that Iridium had filed more than 50 petitions over eight months seeking to block or restrict rival satellite deployments, framing the complaint around the company’s competitive behavior rather than the merger itself.
The core technical dispute centers on SpaceX’s next-generation Starlink gateways, which support gigabit-speed service, with Iridium arguing that proposed ground stations could interfere with its operations in shared spectrum bands and potentially exceed permissible interference levels “by a wide margin.”
The deal structure is what makes the FCC complaint so financially damaging to Rocket Lab shareholders specifically, because each Iridium share converts into $27 in cash plus a variable number of Rocket Lab shares based on Rocket Lab’s own 10-day volume-weighted average price near closing.
That variable exchange ratio means regulatory uncertainty and Rocket Lab share price weakness reinforce each other directly, disrupting merger-arbitrage positioning and transmitting regulatory noise straight into the stock.
The transaction was initially structured at an implied equity value of $6 billion and an enterprise value of $8.1 billion, with former Iridium shareholders expected to own approximately 5% of the combined company after closing.
Rocket Lab has secured a $3.6 billion bridge facility that it may replace with longer-term debt, equity financing, or a combination of both before the deal closes.
Iridium issued its definitive proxy and Rocket Lab filed its prospectus this week, with a shareholder vote on the merger now scheduled for September 24.
Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ: LUNR) fell 5% to $15.32 alongside the broader space complex on Friday, though the stock had surged 31% over the prior month before the pullback.
The Procure Space ETF (NASDAQ: UFO) dropped 2% to $43.92, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA: SPY) declined only 0.3% to $768.84, highlighting how concentrated the selling pressure was inside the space sector.
AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ: ASTS) also fell 6% to $58.04, moving with the sector rather than any verified company-specific news, and was down 15% year over year through Thursday’s close.
On the operational side, Rocket Lab separately disclosed completion of checkouts for the reusable Hungry Hippo fairing for its Neutron rocket, which endured 275,000 pounds of force during qualification testing.
CEO Peter Beck has cautioned that “the window for an end-of-year launch is narrowing,” adding Neutron timing as another live variable for investors to monitor alongside the regulatory situation.
Retail sentiment on Rocket Lab remains divided heading into the shareholder vote, with some traders treating the FCC complaint as a genuine deal threat and others viewing the weakness as a buying opportunity.
Investors tracking Rocket Lab into the September 24 vote should watch for any formal FCC response from the company and for developments in the interference dispute with Iridium that could clarify the regulatory path before shareholders weigh in.
