Key Highlights

● Iridium stockholders adopted the Merger agreement with Rocket Lab at a September 24, 2026 special meeting by an overwhelming margin.

● About 85.9 million shares voted for the deal, versus 318,415 against and 67,862 abstaining, per the 8-K tallies.

● Iridium holders will receive $27 in cash plus Rocket Lab stock worth roughly $54 per share under the deal terms.

● Regulatory approvals remain the other major closing condition, with the companies targeting a mid-2027 close.

Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM) stockholders voted overwhelmingly on September 24, 2026 to approve Rocket Lab Corporation's roughly $8 billion Acquisition of the satellite communications operator, according to an 8-K Iridium filed the same day. The special meeting adopted the Agreement and Plan of Merger first signed in June, clearing one of the two major conditions standing between the companies and a closed deal.

What Was Voted On, and How Lopsided It Was

The filing lays out precise tallies. On the proposal to adopt the merger agreement, 85,862,105 shares voted in favor, 318,415 against, and 67,862 abstained, a Margin that leaves little doubt about Shareholder sentiment. The vote also covered a non-binding advisory proposal on merger-related executive compensation, which passed by a similarly wide margin, and a routine adjournment proposal that was rendered moot once the main items already had enough support to pass.

The Deal Iridium Shareholders Just Approved

Under the merger agreement, signed June 28, 2026, Rocket Lab will acquire Iridium through two merger subsidiaries, Ion Merger Sub I, Inc. and Ion Merger Sub II, LLC, in a transaction structured to close in stages. Strategically, the pairing is meant to combine Iridium's operating satellite constellation, global L-band spectrum, and roughly 2.55 million active subscribers with Rocket Lab's launch vehicles and satellite Manufacturing capabilities, creating what the companies have called a vertically integrated space company spanning launch, satellites, and end-to-end services.

Iridium itself operates what it describes as the world's only truly global mobile satellite network, serving aviation, maritime, government, and industrial customers who need connectivity outside the reach of terrestrial cellular networks. That network is the core asset Rocket Lab is acquiring, alongside Iridium's existing subscriber and equipment Revenue base.

What It Means for Investors

Passing the stockholder vote removes one of the two major remaining conditions to closing; the other is the set of regulatory approvals the companies still need to secure. For Iridium holders, the vote effectively locks in the Economics of the deal: $27 in cash plus a collar-protected slug of Rocket Lab stock, worth roughly $54 per Iridium share at signing, subject to how Rocket Lab's own share price moves between now and closing.

The Road to a Mid-2027 Close

The companies are targeting a mid-2027 close, which leaves several quarters for regulatory review to play out before the merger is complete, a long runway relative to many all-cash tender-offer deals but typical for a transaction of this size and complexity, given the national-security and spectrum considerations tied to a satellite communications operator changing hands.

Longer term, the real test for both sets of shareholders will be execution, specifically whether Rocket Lab can successfully integrate a satellite network operator with its existing launch and satellite manufacturing Business without disrupting either side's operations. For index watchers, Iridium currently sits in the S&P MidCap 400, and a completed take-private-by-stock-and-cash deal of this size would eventually require index Rebalancing once the merger closes.