Volatus Aerospace Acquires Over 300,000 Miles of Pipeline Right-of-Way Surveillance
(P&GJ) — Volatus Aerospace Corp. has signed a definitive agreement on Oct. 12 to acquire Alberta-based Synergy Aviation Ltd., solidifying the company’s position in Western Canada to provide privileged access to much of the oil and gas industry.
Founded in Alberta in 2014, Synergy Aviation is an industry leader in aerial surveillance, pipeline integrity monitoring, and specialized geomatics, patrolling and inspecting more than 500,000 km (roughly 310,000 miles) of pipeline right of way stretching from the coast of British Columbia to the Manitoba/U.S. border. The company provides Canada’s largest oil and gas producers and pipeline operators with uninterrupted, consistent and highly detailed right-of-way integrity data.
“Pipeline inspection, much like other long linear inspection requirements, has traditionally been completed using crewed helicopters and small fixed wing aircraft,” Glen Lynch, CEO of Volatus Aerospace, said. “Leveraging Synergy’s oil & gas presence combined with our existing pipeline operations in Ontario will allow us to introduce the power of innovative drone solutions to meet regulatory compliance and asset management requirements with improved efficiencies and a material reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.”
Synergy’s leadership in the sector combined with Volatus’ drone technology solutions will position the company with a strong competitive advantage to introduce innovative, efficient, green, remotely operated drone solutions to fulfill regulatory and asset monitoring requirements.
“There are nearly 5 million kilometers of oil and gas pipeline in North America requiring annual inspections and, in many cases, weekly patrols to meet regulatory and asset management requirements,” Todd Tkach, president of Synergy Aviation, said. “Becoming part of Volatus gives us the added geomatics capabilities, market reach, and the opportunity to disrupt traditional methods in this sector.”
Synergy recorded unaudited revenues of $7 million with a 14% EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) during the first nine months of 2022 and is targeting year end revenues of $9 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Volatus will make an equity investment of $2.29 million in Synergy Aviation over the course of 10 months from closing in exchange for newly issued shares that will represent 51% of all outstanding shares.
The investment will be used by Synergy for ongoing expansion activities. The transaction is scheduled to close on Oct. 31 conditional on satisfactory completion of due diligence, approval of the respective Board of Directors, and regulatory approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.
Subject to operational and financial metric as defined in the definitive agreement, the Synergy investors will have an option, expiring in December 2024, to sell the remaining 49% equity to Volatus at the same valuation at Closing in exchange of Volatus shares based on 30 days VWAP (volume weighted average price) on date of Closing.
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