Space

Maxar completes $6.4B sale to private equity

Comment

A large deployment of Russian ground forces, containing hundreds of military vehicles, are seen in convoy northeast of Ivankiv, Ukraine
Image Credits: Maxar / Getty Images

Maxar Technologies, the satellite imaging and manufacturing company, has completed its $6.4 billion sale to private equity.

The company announced on Wednesday that it was no longer listed on the New York Stock Exchange following the closing of the acquisition by PE firm Advent International and minority investor British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. It will shortly be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The entities announced their merger agreement in December, stipulating that outstanding Maxar shares would be acquired for $53 per share in an all-cash deal.

The Westminster, Colorado-based space company is the result of a 2017 merger between DigitalGlobe and MDA Holdings Company. The company later sold MDA’s assets for $1 billion CAD ($765 million). Maxar has had a series of highs and lows since then; it concluded 2018 with a $1.26 billion loss due to a bottomed-out stock price, in part due to the loss of a major imaging satellite.

But since then, the company has steadily recovered its stock price, ending 2022 with an estimated $2 billion in revenue. The company has scored major contracts from the U.S. government and defense, including a $3.2 billion contract from the National Reconnaissance Office last year. More recently, Maxar landed a contract from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency worth up to $192 million over five years.

More TechCrunch

The European Union has taken the wraps off the structure of the new AI Office, the ecosystem-building and oversight body that’s being established under the bloc’s AI Act. The risk-based…

With the EU AI Act incoming this summer, the bloc lays out its plan for AI governance

Solutions by Text, a company that gives people a way to pay their bills and apply for loans via text messaging, has secured $110 million in new growth funding. Edison…

Bootstrapped for over a decade, this Dallas company just secured $110M to help people pay bills by text

Owners of small- and medium-sized businesses check their bank balances daily to make financial decisions. But it’s enterpreneur Yoseph West’s assertion that there’s typically information and functions missing from bank…

Relay raises $24 million to help smaller businesses manage their cashflow

When other firms were investing and raising eye-popping sums, Clean Energy Ventures took a different approach. It appears to be paying off.

How Clean Energy Ventures avoided the pandemic bubble and raised a $305M fund

PwC, the management consulting giant, will become OpenAI’s biggest customer to date, covering 100,000 users.

OpenAI signs 100K PwC workers to ChatGPT’s enterprise tier as PwC becomes its first resale partner

Tech enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, the clock is ticking! With just 72 hours remaining until the early-bird ticket deadline for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, now is the time to secure your spot…

72 hours left of the Disrupt early-bird sale

Avendus, the top investment bank for venture deals in India, confirmed on Wednesday it is looking to raise up to $350 million for its new private equity fund.  The new…

Avendus, India’s top venture advisor, confirms it’s looking to raise a $350 million fund

China has closed a third state-backed investment fund to bolster its semiconductor industry and reduce reliance on other nations, both for using and for manufacturing wafers — prioritizing what is…

China’s $47B semiconductor fund puts chip sovereignty front and center

Apple’s annual list of what it considers the best and most innovative software available on its platform is turning its attention to the little guy.

Apple’s Design Awards nominees highlight indies and startups, largely ignore AI (except for Arc)

The spyware maker’s founder, Bryan Fleming, said pcTattletale is “out of business and completely done,” following a data breach.

Spyware maker pcTattletale says it’s ‘out of business’ and shuts down after data breach

AI models are always surprising us, not just in what they can do, but what they can’t, and why. An interesting new behavior is both superficial and revealing about these…

AI models have favorite numbers, because they think they’re people

On Friday, Pal Kovacs was listening to the long-awaited new album from rock and metal giants Bring Me The Horizon when he noticed a strange sound at the end of…

Rock band’s hidden hacking-themed website gets hacked

Jan Leike, a leading AI researcher who earlier this month resigned from OpenAI before publicly criticizing the company’s approach to AI safety, has joined OpenAI rival Anthropic to lead a…

Anthropic hires former OpenAI safety lead to head up new team

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at the long-term implications of Synapse’s bankruptcy on the fintech sector, Majority’s impressive ARR milestone, and more!  To get a roundup of…

The demise of BaaS fintech Synapse could derail the funding prospects for other startups in the space

YouTube’s free Playables don’t directly challenge the app store model or break Apple’s rules. However, they do compete with the App Store’s free games.

YouTube’s free games catalog ‘Playables’ rolls out to all users

Featured Article

A comprehensive list of 2024 tech layoffs

The tech layoff wave is still going strong in 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, this year has already seen 60,000 job cuts across 254 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap and Microsoft have conducted sizable layoffs in the first months of 2024. Smaller-sized…

20 hours ago
A comprehensive list of 2024 tech layoffs

OpenAI has formed a new committee to oversee “critical” safety and security decisions related to the company’s projects and operations. But, in a move that’s sure to raise the ire…

OpenAI’s new safety committee is made up of all insiders

Time is running out for tech enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to secure their early-bird tickets for TechCrunch Disrupt 2024! With only four days left until the May 31 deadline, now is…

Early bird gets the savings — 4 days left for Disrupt sale

AI may not be up to the task of replacing Google Search just yet, but it can be useful in more specific contexts — including handling the drudgery that comes…

Skej’s AI meeting scheduling assistant works like adding an EA to your email

Faircado has built a browser extension that suggests pre-owned alternatives for ecommerce listings.

Faircado raises $3M to nudge people to buy pre-owned goods

Tumblr, the blogging site acquired twice, is launching its “Communities” feature in open beta, the Tumblr Labs division has announced. The feature offers a dedicated space for users to connect…

Tumblr launches its semi-private Communities in open beta

Remittances from workers in the U.S. to their families and friends in Latin America amounted to $155 billion in 2023. With such a huge opportunity, banks, money transfer companies, retailers,…

Félix Pago raises $15.5 million to help Latino workers send money home via WhatsApp

Google said today it’s adding new AI-powered features such as a writing assistant and a wallpaper creator and providing easy access to Gemini chatbot to its Chromebook Plus line of…

Google adds AI-powered features to Chromebook

The dynamic duo behind the Grammy Award–winning music group the Chainsmokers, Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, are set to bring their entrepreneurial expertise to TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. Known for their…

The Chainsmokers light up Disrupt 2024

The deal will give LumApps a big nest egg to make acquisitions and scale its business.

LumApps, the French ‘intranet super app,’ sells majority stake to Bridgepoint in a $650M deal

Featured Article

More neobanks are becoming mobile networks — and Nubank wants a piece of the action

Nubank is taking its first tentative steps into the mobile network realm, as the NYSE-traded Brazilian neobank rolls out an eSIM (embedded SIM) service for travelers. The service will give customers access to 10GB of free roaming internet in more than 40 countries without having to switch out their own existing physical SIM card or…

1 day ago
More neobanks are becoming mobile networks — and Nubank wants a piece of the action

Infra.Market, an Indian startup that helps construction and real estate firms procure materials, has raised $50M from MARS Unicorn Fund.

MARS doubles down on India’s Infra.Market with new $50M investment

Small operations can lose customers by not offering financing, something the Berlin-based startup wants to change.

Cloover wants to speed solar adoption by helping installers finance new sales

India’s Adani Group is in discussions to venture into digital payments and e-commerce, according to a report.

Adani looks to battle Reliance, Walmart in India’s e-commerce, payments race, report says

Ledger, a French startup mostly known for its secure crypto hardware wallets, has started shipping new wallets nearly 18 months after announcing the latest Ledger Stax devices. The updated wallet…

Ledger starts shipping its high-end hardware crypto wallet