Key Takeaways
- • Oman Investment Authority invests $88 million in PLD Space through its Second Spanish-Omani Private Equity Fund, deepening institutional exposure to European space technology and small-satellite launch capabilities.
- • PLD Space closes extended Series C funding round at €288 million total ($333 million), with the OIA commitment representing a strategic tranche alongside prior investment from Japanese satellite manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (€50 million).
- • Commercial launch operations anchored to Oman: PLD Space signed a memorandum of understanding in February 2025 to operate its Miura 5 reusable rocket from the Etlaq spaceport in Duqm, linking the investment directly to Oman's space sector expansion (136% growth from 11 to 26 companies between 2023–2025).
- • Bilateral partnership deepens: The investment extends a 2018 partnership between Oman Investment Authority and Spain's state-owned COFIDES, with the Second Spanish-Omani Fund (established December 2023) targeting cross-border synergies across manufacturing, energy, logistics, and emerging sectors like space technology.
- • European private space market consolidation: PLD Space, founded in 2011 and the first private European company to successfully launch a rocket domestically (2023), is positioned as a near-term commercial operator in the competitive small-sat launch segment.
Summary
The Oman Investment Authority has committed $88 million to Spanish space launch company PLD Space through its Second Spanish-Omani Private Equity Fund, marking a significant institutional capital inflow into European commercial space infrastructure. The fund itself holds $125.4 million in total commitments, split equally between OIA and Spain's state-owned development bank COFIDES, with additional capital from fund manager MCH. This investment represents OIA's strategic expansion into space technology, a sector experiencing accelerated growth within Oman's economy.
PLD Space, headquartered in Elche, Spain and founded in 2011 by Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú, has closed an extended Series C funding round totaling €288 million ($333 million equivalent). The OIA commitment forms part of this larger capital raise, which previously included a €50 million tranche from Japanese satellite manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The company has established itself as a credible operator in the European small-satellite launch market, notably becoming the first private company to successfully launch a rocket in Europe in 2023. PLD Space is currently developing reusable Miura 5 launch vehicles designed to deliver small payloads to low Earth orbit.
The investment gains strategic significance through PLD Space's February 2025 memorandum of understanding with Oman's Etlaq spaceport in Duqm to conduct commercial Miura 5 launches from Omani territory. This arrangement follows completed commercial and technical feasibility studies and directly ties the capital deployment to Oman's broader space sector ambitions. The country has experienced rapid sectoral expansion, with operating space companies growing 136 percent from 11 entities in 2023 to 26 by 2025, signaling emerging market opportunities in the Middle Eastern space economy.
The bilateral investment partnership reflects a sustained collaboration framework initiated in 2018 between OIA and COFIDES. The Second Spanish-Omani Fund, formally established in December 2023, targets investment across Spanish manufacturing, tourism, logistics, healthcare, food and agribusiness, energy, and telecommunications sectors while actively seeking geographic diversification and knowledge transfer opportunities into Oman's market. According to Saif bin Hamad Al Mahrouqi, senior manager of joint government partnerships at OIA, the space technology investment exemplifies efforts to diversify the portfolio by sector and geography while attracting institutional capital and facilitating technology transfer to Oman's emerging ecosystem.
PLD Space, headquartered in Elche, Spain and founded in 2011 by Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú, has closed an extended Series C funding round totaling €288 million ($333 million equivalent). The OIA commitment forms part of this larger capital raise, which previously included a €50 million tranche from Japanese satellite manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The company has established itself as a credible operator in the European small-satellite launch market, notably becoming the first private company to successfully launch a rocket in Europe in 2023. PLD Space is currently developing reusable Miura 5 launch vehicles designed to deliver small payloads to low Earth orbit.
The investment gains strategic significance through PLD Space's February 2025 memorandum of understanding with Oman's Etlaq spaceport in Duqm to conduct commercial Miura 5 launches from Omani territory. This arrangement follows completed commercial and technical feasibility studies and directly ties the capital deployment to Oman's broader space sector ambitions. The country has experienced rapid sectoral expansion, with operating space companies growing 136 percent from 11 entities in 2023 to 26 by 2025, signaling emerging market opportunities in the Middle Eastern space economy.
The bilateral investment partnership reflects a sustained collaboration framework initiated in 2018 between OIA and COFIDES. The Second Spanish-Omani Fund, formally established in December 2023, targets investment across Spanish manufacturing, tourism, logistics, healthcare, food and agribusiness, energy, and telecommunications sectors while actively seeking geographic diversification and knowledge transfer opportunities into Oman's market. According to Saif bin Hamad Al Mahrouqi, senior manager of joint government partnerships at OIA, the space technology investment exemplifies efforts to diversify the portfolio by sector and geography while attracting institutional capital and facilitating technology transfer to Oman's emerging ecosystem.
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