Maritime Launch gets conditional TSX listing approval

Maritime Launch Services, the Halifax company developing Spaceport Nova Scotia, said Oct. 15 that the Toronto Stock Exchange has conditionally approved its shares for listing, under the existing symbol MAXQ.

The company, which announced the approval itself, must still meet the TSX’s customary listing requirements and receive final sign-off. It said it will announce the start date for TSX trading, and the end of its Cboe Canada listing, at a later date, according to SpaceQ and BetaKit.

“We have made significant progress in transitioning Spaceport Nova Scotia from development to execution,” president and CEO Stephen Matier said. He added that “this listing will strengthen our visibility in Canadian capital markets.”

The company has traded on Cboe Canada, formerly the NEO Exchange, and on the U.S. over-the-counter market since it went public in 2022 by merging into a dormant listed shell, Jaguar Financial. Its shares rose to 44 cents on Cboe Canada on Thursday, which SpaceQ said values the company at about $335 million. The stock started trading at about 17 cents in April 2022.

The move comes as the spaceport, outside Canso, N.S., shifts toward operations. BetaKit reported that the federal government has committed $200 million to lease the site for 10 years to support Department of National Defence operations and Canada’s allies. SpaceQ reported that Germany’s Isar Aerospace, which has a facilities agreement with the company, finalized the work plan for a dedicated launch pad in September.

Maritime Launch reported its first quarterly profit in the second quarter, on revenue of $5.6 million, according to SpaceQ. The company relied for years on small funding raises.

The project has also had a slow road. BetaKit reported that it has faced many delays and that a first commercial rocket launch last November fell short of its target. The company says the spaceport’s first orbital launch will happen next year.

The TSX handles most of the trading in Canadian-listed securities, while Cboe Canada handles nearly 15 per cent of that volume, BetaKit reported. SpaceQ noted that a TSX listing could eventually open a path to the S&P/TSX Composite Index. To qualify, a company must be listed for six full calendar months, average at least $1 a share over the prior three months, meet a minimum size threshold and pass a liquidity test. At 44 cents, Maritime Launch is well short of the price test.

The listing remains conditional, and neither source reported a timeline for final approval. Canada has no operating orbital launch site, so the company’s progress is closely watched across the country’s growing space sector, which also includes Alberta astronaut Josh Kutryk, who recently began a six-month mission on the International Space Station, as Canada News Media reported.

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Sources: SpaceQ; BetaKit.