Nasdaq listing to leave Peter Beck with $771m stake in Rocket Lab

Monday, 28 June 2021

Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Peter Beck in the company's Auckland production complex.

Peter Beck will retain at least a 12.2 per cent stake in Rocket Lab worth about US$545 million (NZ$771m) when the company he founded lists on the Nadsaq exchange in the next few months.

Rocket Lab is due to list on the exchange through a reverse auction by shell company Vector Acquisition Corporation before the end of September, with a value of about US$4.5 billion.

Khosla Ventures, a Californian venture capital company owned by Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, will be the biggest shareholder with at least a 25.8 per cent stake.

A filing by Vector to the United Securities and Exchange Commission showed Beck drew US$373,434 from the company through his salary and other compensation last year.

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That meant he was the second highest paid executive behind chief financial officer Adam Spice, who earned a total of US$439,347.

The filing also shows Beck, who is 44, cashed out US$10m from Rocket Lab by selling shares to another investment company, Greenspring Opportunities, in 2019.

Rocket Lab will raise US$467m by issuing new shares to investors at US$10 each.

That is expected to leave it with about US$750m cash on its books to fund the development its new larger Neutron rocket.