The Earth imagery and space technology company Maxar Technologies [MAXR] on Wednesday said it has completed the $765 million sale of its Canada-based space business MDA to a consortium of investors led by Toronto-based Northern Private Capital.
Maxar, which is cased in Colorado, in December announced its plan to divest MDA to reduce its debt and improve its capital structure.
“The closing of the MDA transaction concludes the near-term reshaping of our balance sheet and business portfolio,” Dan Jablonsky, CEO of Maxar, said in a statement. “Going forward, our growth strategy remains focused on providing leading capabilities in earth intelligence and space infrastructure, including geospatial data, data analytics and spacecraft and robotics that are will aligned with the strategic priorities of our government and commercial customers.”
MDA, previously known as MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, acquired Colorado-based DigitalGlobe in 2017 for $2.4 billion, resulting in the creation of Maxar.
Combined with the recent sale of real estate in California, the MDA divestiture reduces Maxar’s debt by about $1 billion and improves its leverage ratio.
“Importantly, we believe these actions provide Maxar increased flexibility, range and focus to drive revenue, profit and cash flow growth over the next several years,” Biggs Porter, Maxar’s chief financial officer, said in a statement. “We also have good liquidity with only $15 million drawn on our $500 million credit facility as of March 31, 2020.”
MDA, which has sales of around $370 million, has capabilities in space robotics and sensors, satellite payloads, antennas and subsystems, surveillance and intelligence systems, defense and maritime systems, and geospatial radar imagery.