EagleView Technologies, a privately held aerial imagery and data analytics company headquartered in Bothell, Wash., says it intends to acquire Spookfish, an Australian company that’s in the same business.
The acquisition takes the form of an all-cash offer for Spookfish’s publicly traded shares, at a premium price of 0.08 Australian dollars (6 U.S. cents) per share.
The offer values Spookfish at about $89.7 million (121.6 million Australian dollars), according to public disclosure filings. EagleView already holds 10.49 percent of Spookfish’s shares, as the result of a 2016 investment that made EagleView the Australian company’s largest single shareholder.
“The price we are paying is for the approximately 89.51 percent of the remaining shares,” David Snider, EagleView’s vice president of marketing, explained in an email to GeekWire. That translates to $80.3 million.
The deal opens the way for EagleView to deploy Spookfish’s advanced aerial camera technology in North America, and establishes a presence for EagleView in the Australian market.
Thanks to the tech upgrade, EagleView will be able to deliver aerial imagery at significantly higher resolution than before, augmented by machine learning processes. The company’s customers include insurance underwriters, tax assessors, city planners, contractors, utilities and others who need accurate information about property conditions or changes.
“We are excited to welcome Spookfish technology, solutions and personnel to the EagleView portfolio,” EagleView CEO Rishi Daga said today in a news release. “After two years of rigorously developing and testing aerial cameras with our partners at Spookfish, we have unequivocally determined that this is the best capture solution for the next decade.”
Spookfish CEO Jason Walter said the deal “represents an auspicious milestone for both companies.”
“With our capture program in Australia ramping up and sales traction growing, this has the ability to accelerate that growth through leveraging EagleView’s extensive product suite and experience,” he said.
The acquisition is subject to customary conditions, including shareholder and regulatory approvals. Eagleview says the transaction should be completed by the end of the year. King & Wood Mallesons and Kirkland & Ellis LLP represented EagleView, a portfolio company of Vista Equity Partners, in connection with its intention to acquire Spookfish.
Last month, EagleView announced what it called a “significant new equity investment” in the company by Clearlake Capital Group and Vista Equity Partners. Although the terms of the investment was not disclosed, it’s likely that at least some of the funding will facilitate the Spookfish acquisition.
