AeroVironment to acquire Acturus UAV, maker of CFRP-intensive T-20

AeroVironment, Inc. (Simi Valley, Calif., U.S.), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems, and Arcturus UAV, Inc. (Petaluma, Calif., U.S.), a privately-held provider of Group 2 and 3 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and services, entered a definitive agreement as of Jan. 13, under which AeroVironment will acquire Arcturus UAV for a total purchase price of $405 million, including $355 million in cash and $50 million in AeroVironment stock. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the AeroVironment and Arcturus UAV Boards of Directors, is expected to accelerate AeroVironment’s strategy to drive profitable growth and value by expanding into attractive adjacent segments and by broadening its capabilities and customer footprint.

Founded in 2004, Arcturus UAV has approximately 270 employees, designs and manufactures Group 2 and Group 3 UAS and provides related services, including contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) services. Arcturus UAV is a leading supplier to the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), supporting its $1.4 billion MEUAS III and IV programs, and one of four awardees selected for funded development and demonstrations supporting the U.S. Army’s FTUAS program, a potential billion dollar, next-generation UAS program. Arcturus UAV has a demonstrated track record of solid performance, with top-line growth exceeding 20% for each of its last two fiscal years.

“We are excited about the opportunities for value creation through our acquisition of Arcturus UAV, which will enable us to accelerate our growth strategy and expand our reach into the more valuable Group 2 and 3 UAS segments,” says Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment president and CEO. “Group 2 and 3 UAS and services, collectively, potentially represent more than one billion dollars in annual contract value, according to an independent forecast. Combining our highly complementary products and technologies will enhance our portfolio, deliver top- and bottom-line growth and enable us to provide customers with a complete set of Group 1-3 UAS, tactical missile systems, high-altitude pseudo-satellites and unmanned ground vehicle solutions. Through this expanded portfolio, we will be well positioned to serve a broader range of customer missions across multiple domains and significantly enhance value for shareholders over the near and long-term.”

AeroVironment looks forward to welcoming Arcturus UAV’s talented team, strong customer relationships in growing UAS segments and robust pipeline of innovations to its company.

“With the support of AeroVironment, we will have greater scale, expanded resources, cutting-edge technology and superior capabilities to meet the growing global demand for our products and solutions,” adds D’Milo Hallerberg, Arcturus UAV president and CEO.” We are confident that with AeroVironment, we can accelerate our growth as part of a larger, more diverse company and look forward to working closely with the team to complete this transaction.”

The transaction is expected to close during fourth quarter of AeroVironment’s fiscal year 2021, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. At close, Arcturus UAV will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AeroVironment.

Arcturus UAV’s products include the JUMP-20, a multi-mission, medium endurance vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) system requiring no launch equipment or runway and the T-20, a multi-mission, medium endurance, catapult-launched system. All Arcturus UAV systems have the ability to carry a broad range of payloads, including standard EO/IR gimbals as well as 3D mapping, SAR (synthetic-apeture radar), LiDAR (light detection and ranging), communications relay, COMINT (communications intelligence) and SIGINT (signal intelligence) payloads.