Spire Global, a recently listed satellite constellation operator, is buying exactEarth, a Canadian ship-tracking company, in its first big acquisition, raising anticipation of greater space consolidation amid the wave of public corporations. Based in Vienna, Virginia, which has 110 Lemur satellites in the low Earth orbit and offers analysis and data-gathering services in marine and other industries, Spire is purchasing exactEarth for $161.2 million in stock and cash. The transaction values exactEarth at a little over 9 times its total income over the previous 12 months, according to the businesses’ announcement on September 14.
If a minimum of two-thirds of the exactEarth shareholders approves the merger at a meeting scheduled for November, they will own around 3.