AST SpaceMobile, Inc.

Advertisement | Remove ads. Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (ASTS) climbed 3% premarket on Tuesday after Midland officials projected a 132% return on the city’s incentive investment from the company’s satellite manufacturing expansion plans. 42, putting the shares on track for their worst monthly run in more than two years. 6 million in net proceeds to fund growth initiatives and secure additional launch capacity for its space-based cellular broadband network. Advertisement | Remove ads. The Midland Development Corporation approved an agreement offering AST SpaceMobile up to $66 million in performance-based incentives over 30 years.

The deal, which still requires Midland City Council approval, would support a new satellite manufacturing and production facility spanning at least 400,000 square feet next to the company’s existing Spaceport Business Park operations. Midland officials said the expansion could generate $116 million in local property tax revenue, representing a projected 132% return on the city’s incentive investment. The agreement does not include property or sales-tax abatements, meaning local taxing entities would begin benefiting as the new facility and equipment enter the tax rolls.

8%, helping reduce the region’s dependence on oil and gas. “This is significant in terms of economic diversification,” MDC Executive Director Sara Harris said, noting that expanding non-energy industries could help insulate Midland from commodity-price swings. Advertisement | Remove ads. At full buildout, AST would be required to create 1,800 jobs, generate $144 million in annual payroll and make up to $150 million in taxable capital investment. The positions are expected to include satellite assembly, manufacturing, engineering, warehousing, supply chain and production-support roles.

“If they meet all of these projections, they perhaps will be the largest private employer and have nothing to do with the oil and gas industry,” MDC Chairman Brad Bullock said. ” AST representatives also highlighted the company’s in-house training programs, saying workers with limited aerospace experience could be trained to manufacture satellites and electronics. AST SpaceMobile has operated in Midland since 2018 under two previous MDC agreements. 25 million in personal-property investment. A subsequent agreement covered another Spaceport Business Park facility and required 15 additional jobs and $3 million in new investment.

Those earlier commitments cannot be used to satisfy the new agreement. Advertisement | Remove ads. “In terms of performance, AST has outperformed the requirements of the previous agreements that have been put in place,” Harris said. The expansion is a huge jump from AST’s original Midland footprint. In 2018, the company announced an 85,000-square-foot plant expected to create more than 160 jobs and attract over $30 million in investment. The latest proposal calls for a facility nearly 5x larger and more than 10x the original job target.