RocketLab market cap is 57b.

Iridium market cap was 5.5b and this transaction values it at 8b.

Look at GameStop’s quixotic attempt to acquire eBay. Which is actually not impossible.

Remember when NeXT acquired Apple for negative 400 million?

Dell bought EMC for 67b when they were worth 24b

Rocket Lab's market cap is 57B and are buying Iridium for 8B. I'm assuming you're implying some other measure of worth, but it's not that crazy based on stock price.

This is one of those times you actually get to use "leverage" as a verb without sounding turbo cringe: a leveraged buyout is an acquisition with borrowed money; the hope is that you will be able to pay back the debt with the money you make off the acquired assets. Doesn't always pan out but sometimes it does.

That's this thing called credit.

People do this all the time, that's how they buy their first house (or at least used to...). Your net worth is basically zero beyond what you saved for the down payment, but the bank advances you the money to buy the house because it believes your future income streams will allow you to pay the principal plus an interest.