By Joey Roulette
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Signals analytics firm HawkEye360 said Monday it acquired Maxar’s radio frequency business unit that was formed less than a year ago, adding more spectrum-scanning satellites to its fleet.
Northern Virginia-based HawkEye, which uses satellites to scan and map radio signals around the world, said the acquisition includes two existing RF satellites, intellectual property and a vast database of radio frequency collections.
The value and timing of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition will “accelerate our discovery of new signals and expand our capacity to serve government intelligence users,” HawkEye 360 Chief Strategy Officer Patrick Zeitouni said in a statement.
Maxar, a heavyweight in the satellite imagery market, sought to expand its offerings earlier this year by acquiring Aurora Insight Inc, which would form its radio frequency business unit, RF Solutions.
Less than a year later, Maxar’s sale of the unit to HawkEye is the latest industry move to shed costs and side offerings that had been born out of a short-lived push to diversify and expand.
“This transaction streamlines our product portfolio and allows Maxar Intelligence to focus on our core strengths,” a Maxar spokesperson said.
Private equity firm Advent International and minority investor British Columbia Investment Management Corp took Maxar private in May in a deal valued at roughly $6.4 billion.
Satellite imagery firm Planet, a Maxar rival, laid off 1,000 employees in August to focus on “high priority growth opportunities and operational efficiency,” it wrote in a securities filing, adding that the company’s swift growth and business expansion efforts years earlier contributed to rising costs amid an increasingly dire funding climate.
(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
