Rocket Lab is acquiring Iridium in an $8B cash-and-stock deal: $54/share, a ~24% premium, expected to close mid-2027. In a Bloomberg interview, CEO Peter Beck was asked why buy now. His answer: the largest space companies of the future won't have a clean line between hardware and software. Rocket Lab already builds the rockets and the spacecraft, and Iridium completes the third leg of the stool by adding the applications layer, making Rocket Lab a fully self-launching company. It's only recently that RKLB has started getting the recognition it deserves, but we already covered this name in a report and analysis for our Private Inner Circle Community as early as last December. If you don't want to miss reports like this, we're offering a complimentary 7-day trial. Link in bio.(Lark Davis)