Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, IPO TRACKER—Rocket launch services company nets $868 million in IPO, (Aug 13, 2025)

By John Filar Atwood

A snapshot of the week’s IPO activity, including completed deals, new preliminary filings and IPO withdrawals.

Last week’s eye-catching public market debut was made by Firefly Aerospace, a Texas-based provider of launch, landing, and in-space services to government and commercial customers. The $45 per share offer price netted the company $868 million in the offering. Despite the relatively high IPO price, the stock still climbed to $60.35, a 34 percent gain, in its initial trading session. Firefly was one of eight companies that completed IPOs last week. California’s Heartflow, which uses AI and software to diagnose and manage coronary artery disease, began trading after 21 days in public registration. The $316 million deal was the largest among the five SIC 3841 (Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus) new issues of 2025. WhiteFiber, a computer data center operator carved out from Bit Digital, raised $159 million in its offering. The new issue was the 15th IPO in the computer software and services industry this year, which includes five U.S. companies and ten Pacific Rim entities. China, which is home to 51 of 2025’s 209 new issuers to date, saw deals by DarkIris and Etoiles Capital Group. Of China’s 51 IPO companies, 30 operate out of Hong Kong. CTW Cayman, a Tokyo-based provider of web game distribution services, completed Japan’s fifth IPO in the U.S. this year. The country produced one new issuer in 2024. Kingswood Capital Partners, the lead manager for CTW, also led Quantumsphere Acquisition to market. To date, 79 SPACs have gone public this year. Among them is STARRY SEA ACQUISITION, which raised $50 million in a deal last week. The SPAC is based in New York State but has substantial ties to China. SPAC IPO offering amounts in 2025 have ranged from $50 million to $420 million, with an average of $176.88 million.

New registrants. The week’s activity included 11 new registrations, including six blank checks and five offshore holding companies with primary operations based in Hong Kong. Cohen & Co. served as lead manager for SIC 6770 filers Hall Chadwick Acquisition, Iris Acquisition II, and Spring Valley Acquisition III. Hall Chadwick will seek targets in the critical materials and energy sectors, while Spring Valley III will focus on the natural resources and decarbonization industries. Dubai-headquartered Iris II’s management team led Iris Acquisition to a business combination with Liminatus Pharma in April. BoluoC Acquisition, M3-Brigade Acquisition VI, and New America Acquisition also joined the list of 2025 blank check preliminary registrants. BoluoC could be the second SPAC based in Taiwan to go public in the U.S. since 2023. Previous M3-Brigade SPACs completed combinations in 2018 and 2023. Donald J. Trump Jr. and Eric Trump serve on New America I’s advisory board. Civil engineering subcontractor KWF Group and Sibo Holding, a provider of investment and advisory services, publicly registered on Forms F-1. KWF’s Kam Wing Fung Engineering subsidiary operates in Hong Kong and is mainly engaged in public sector and infrastructure developments. Sibo, a foreign private issuer incorporated in the Cayman Islands, conducts operations solely through its subsidiary StormHarbour Securities. Bend NovaTech Group, Idea Tech Holding, and Voltage X filed their plans for offerings in the U.S. Bend NovaTech operates one of six government-approved off-site steel reinforcing bar prefabrication yards in Hong Kong. Idea Tech sells programmable drones and offers related training courses in Hong Kong, and Voltage X offers digital marketing services.

Withdrawals. No companies elected to withdraw their pending IPO registration statements last week.

The information reported in IPO Tracker is gathered using IPO Vital Signs, a Wolters Kluwer Regulatory U.S. database that includes all SEC registered IPOs, including REITs and those non-U.S. IPO filers seeking to list in the U.S. markets. IPO Vital Signs does not track closed-end funds, best efforts or non-underwritten deals, or IPO offerings for amounts less than $5 million.

Companies: CTW Cayman; Firefly Aerospace Inc.; WhiteFiber, Inc.; DarkIris Inc.; Etoiles Capital Group Co., Ltd.; Heartflow, Inc.; Quantumsphere Acquisition Corp.; STARRY SEA ACQUISITION CORP.; Iris Acquisition Corp. II; M3-Brigade Acquisition VI Corp.; New America Acquisition I Corp.; Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III; Voltage X Ltd.; KWF Group Holding Ltd.; Sibo Holding Ltd.; Hall Chadwick Acquisition Corp.; Bend NovaTech Group Ltd.; BolouC Acquisition Corp.; Idea Tech Holding Ltd.

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