Marysville, Wash.-based Gravitics, which is developing orbital carriers for government and commercial customers, is getting ready for a reverse takeover that could lead to a $125 million public offering.
The arrangements are being made with Non-Invasive Monitoring Systems, a Florida-based shell company, with the goal of getting Gravitics listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
The two ventures have been discussing the deal for months. The terms for the public offering were announced last month, and this week, a notice filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed a previously unreported $17 million funding round that was completed earlier this year. The filing appears to be part of the preparations for the reverse takeover.
Similar to a SPAC merger, a reverse takeover offers a faster route for a private company to go public by acquiring a less active shell company and taking control of the combined operations. Non-Invasive Monitoring Systems is a prime example: It stopped manufacturing motorized therapeutic platforms in 2019 but retained its OTC listing. The plan envisions “uplisting” the merged company from OTC to Nasdaq.
The reverse takeover strategy has been used by several prominent companies, including Berkshire Hathaway, Burger King and Bellevue, Wash.-based T-Mobile US. Gravitics plans to follow up on the merger with an offering of 8.1 million shares priced between $14 and $17, which averages out to $125 million.
Because the offering has been registered with the SEC, the parties to the transaction are in a quiet period that restrains them from commenting on the arrangements.
Gravitics was founded in 2021 by CEO Colin Doughan, chief architect Gary Hudson and chief marketing officer Michael DeRosa. Over the past five years, it has secured some high-profile contracts for the design and manufacture of orbital carriers and space station modules.
Although Gravitics hasn’t yet put any spacecraft in orbit, several projects are underway. In 2024, the company won a $125 million contract from Axiom Space to provide a pressurized module for Axiom’s yet-to-be-launched space station. Last month, NASA said it would issue an award of up to $225,000 to support Gravitics’ work on a hangar facility for orbital cargo vehicles.
Gravitics is also receiving funding from the U.S. Space Force for multiple projects. The company said last month that it was selected by Lockheed Martin to support a “contract of national importance,” reportedly involving the development of orbital carriers for the Pentagon’s Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
