The space sector’s financial architecture is being rebuilt in real time. The lawyers drafting the deal structures are as central to that process as the engineers building the satellites.
Alexis Sáinz is a partner at Hogan Lovells and the global co-leader of the firm’s Space and Satellite practice, which she was hired to build after joining from Milbank. She represents satellite operators, aerospace manufacturers, launch service providers, financial institutions, private equity firms, export credit agencies, and multilateral development banks on structured financings, project financings, M&A transactions, debt and equity offerings, and regulatory matters. She co-chairs the American Bar Association’s Committee on Space Law and co-authored the chapter on Commercial Satellite Programs in the Routledge Handbook of Space Law. She is a member of Hogan Lovells’ Infrastructure, Energy, Resources, and Projects group, and of the firm’s Steering Committee for its Latin America Practice Group.
Sáinz arrives at SmallSat Europe at a moment when the financial architecture of the sector is shifting faster than most founders expected. SatNews reported in February 2026 that balance sheets now matter more than rockets, examining how the SPAC-era exuberance has given way to disciplined project finance and traditional capital markets rigor. SES completed its acquisition of Intelsat. SpaceX filed for an IPO. The European space sector saw PLD Space raise €180 million and D-Orbit close a $53 million Series D. Sáinz moderated the M&A Activity in European Markets panel at SmallSat Europe 2025, where the discussion covered how changes in U.S. policy were reshaping cross-border deal structures.
This year’s panel is titled “The Liquidity Event: IPOs, M&A, and the Private Equity ‘Roll-Up’ of European Space.” The session examines the drivers behind the accelerating pace of consolidation and what it signals for founders and investors navigating the financial restructuring of the sector. It is a session for the people writing the term sheets, not the ones writing the orbital mechanics.
The deal flow is accelerating. The legal frameworks are still catching up.
