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Announcement Recap: Spaceflight Industries Signs Definitive Agreement to Sell the Launch Business

On Feb. 11, 2020, our long-time client Spaceflight Industries, the parent company of Spaceflight and BlackSky, announced the signing of a definite agreement to sell Spaceflight, Inc., the company’s rideshare launch business. Mitsui & Co., Ltd., in partnership with Yamasa, Co., plans to acquire the launch company to expand its portfolio and enter the space industry through an established and influential company.

The acquisition transaction will now undergo review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which evaluates the national security aspects of foreign direct investment in the U.S. economy. The review process takes several months, and the companies anticipate the deal to be approved in the second quarter of 2020.

As you’d assume, this news was incredibly important to all parties involved as it signified a considerable change, which would position all companies for growth that would support their long-term goals. For this announcement we worked closely with teams from both Spaceflight and BlackSky to develop a detailed FAQ that addressed anticipated questions from all audiences. This included considering customers for both companies, partners, key industry players, potential customers and even the varying teams at Spaceflight Industries.

Once we secured the necessary input on the FAQ, we used this as a foundational material to develop other content, such as the press release, blog posts, external Q&As and social content. Then it came time to consider the announcement strategy. Normally for news of this significance, we would have offered it to a handful of key media contacts under embargo, however, due to contractual obligations, we were unable to do so.

As soon as the announcement crossed the wire, we delivered the release to more than 100 media contacts. This included individuals who have covered Spaceflight Industries, Spaceflight or BlackSky in the past, and those who cover industry news. As anticipated, there were several inquiries from reporters seeking more details about the deal. We scheduled a handful of briefings, with both the Spaceflight Industries president/BlackSky CEO and the Spaceflight CEO, so the journalists could understand how each business will benefit from the deal and what this means for the future of each business. The briefings led to a couple of follow-up articles.

The announcement generated a lot of interest and resulted in a significant amount of coverage. Below is an overview of most of the coverage secured.

Congratulations to Spaceflight Industries, BlackSky and Spaceflight on this important milestone and their continued success!

Spaceflight Industries Coverage Overview