This episode is all about investing in space. Our guest today is Andrew Lapham, the CEO of Northern Private Capital, a private equity firm based in Canada. In 2019, Northern Private Capital acquired MDA, the Canadian aerospace company, from Maxar Technologies of the US, for a deal valued at about 1 billion Canadian dollars.
In this episode, Andrew provides an investor's perspective on the space industry. As an outsider who ventured into space by investing in MDA, Andrew has some interesting insights on the recent trends in space tech including Earth observation, launchers, robotics and space exploration. He also some thoughts on the recent phenomenon of SPACs in the space industry as well as suggestions for investors exploring opportunities in space tech.
Chapters:
01:39: About Andrew and Northern Private Capital (NPC)
04:31: Andrew's Perspective on SPACs
09:28: Segments of the Space Industry That Were Easier to Understand As A Generalist Investor
12:06: Satellite Systems
13:32: Robotics
15:04: Earth Observation
18:03 Invest in an Earth Observation Startup, a Launch Startup or A Startup Building A Moon Lander? (Hypothetically)
23:30 Strategic Outlook for MDA
28:30 Does Andrew Recommend the Space Industry to Non-Space Investors?
31:15 What Does The Space Industry Do Well? And What Can it Improve?
34:03 What Are You Most Looking Forward To In Space Tech?