GeoDigital International (GDI) and Airborne 1 Corporation (A1) have agreed to the acquisition of Airborne 1 by GDI. GeoDigital is a world leader in LiDAR & Imaging technology for engineering surveys and right-of-way corridor mapping for the electric utility, pipeline, telecommunication, highway, rail, and other industries. The acquisition of Airborne 1 creates the Largest Full-Spectrum LiDAR & Imaging Mapping Entity in North America.
Scale Finance’s Managing Director, Gerhard Renner, commented, “this strategic combination makes for an extremely strong competitive position and growth opportunity going forward”. NC-based Scale Finance, which provides CFO & Controller services and helps with growth capital raises and M&A, advised GDI on all aspects of this buy-side transaction from start to finish.
Alastair Jenkins, CEO of GeoDigital International, Inc., said in announcing the agreement “the addition of Airborne 1 to the GeoDigital Group of Companies will allow us to provide our existing corridor engineering and Utility clients with a wider range of mapping products. More importantly by remaining an independent service provider to survey and mapping companies Airborne 1 will be able to deploy our advanced technology Lidar and imaging systems. This will allow them to deliver higher accuracy and density data to customers who traditionally do not use our turn key information Technology solutions.”
In addition to their expertise in helicopter-based LiDAR mapping, GDI is actively engaged in Street Level mapping with advanced sensors. By merging these capabilities with the broad-area mapping experience of Airborne 1 and their hundreds of partners in the US and abroad, the two firms will be able to service the full spectrum of LiDAR and complex oblique data collection needs of survey, engineering and mapping professionals.
Derek Cardy, GeoDigital’s CFO, commented “Scale Finance provided invaluable support in making this acquisition happen. They understood what we were looking for, presented the opportunity, developed the underlying valuation, and supported our team with the due diligence and financial modeling. Their hands on approach, timely execution, and expertise made them a real partner in the process – like having an in-house acquisitions team”.
The combined company now operates locations in Atlanta GA; El Segundo, CA; Lompoc, CA; Victoria BC; and Toronto, Ontario.
About GeoDigital International Inc.
GeoDigital and its predecessor companies have a 20 year history in airborne mapping for the utility industry providing leading-edge solutions for mapping, vegetation inspection and line rating & clearance analysis services to customers across North America. With 4 offices located throughout the United States and Canada, the company has over 100 employees working in the areas of software development, LiDAR processing, ortho processing, electronics, multimedia, data acquisition and processing. This team has mapped more than 200,000 line miles (320,000 line kms) and over 1,000,000 structures worldwide. More information about GeoDigital International can be found at www.GeoDigital.net.
