Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB) shares dropped 6.6% on Thursday after the company disclosed plans for a large-scale equity offering programme that could raise up to US$3 billion through future share sales.
In a filing submitted to the SEC on May 20, 2026, Rocket Lab said it had entered into an equity distribution agreement with 16 financial institutions, including BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which will act as sales agents for the offering.
Under the arrangement, Rocket Lab may periodically issue and sell common shares through the participating financial institutions, acting either as agents or principals in the transactions.
The company said the total aggregate value of shares that could be sold under the programme amounts to as much as US$3 billion.
The agreement also gives Rocket Lab the ability to enter into forward sale agreements with selected financial institutions involved in the transaction.
As part of these forward arrangements, the participating banks or their affiliates may borrow shares from third-party lenders and sell them through designated sales agents in order to hedge their positions tied to the forward sale contracts.
The group of participating sales agents includes BofA Securities, BTIG, Cantor Fitzgerald, Citizens JMP Securities, Craig-Hallum Capital Group, Deutsche Bank Securities, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Needham & Company, Nomura Securities International, Robert W. Baird, Roth Capital Partners, Stifel Nicolaus, TD Securities and Wells Fargo Securities.
The forward purchasers involved in the programme include Bank of America, Deutsche Bank AG London Branch, Goldman Sachs, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley, Nomura Global Financial Products, Robert W. Baird, Stifel Nicolaus, The Toronto-Dominion Bank and Wells Fargo Bank.