Air taxi firm Joby acquires defense tech company for $500 million

• JOBY -5.46%

Aug 11 (Reuters) - Joby Aviation said on Tuesday it would buy defense technology company Resonant Sciences for about $500 million, as ‌it looks to scale its business in a growing ‌defense market.

Electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) companies are focusing more on the military ​market as commercial development has taken longer than expected and defense spending has ramped up, driven by wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Here are some more details:

• Joby said it will continue developing its air taxi ‌eVTOL and will move ⁠its defense programs, including hybrid and autonomous VTOL projects, under Resonant Sciences.

• Dayton, Ohio-based Resonant designs, manufactures and ⁠delivers advanced radio-frequency and mission systems for U.S. national security customers.

• Its systems "help aircraft see, communicate, and operate in complex environments," Joby CEO ​JoeBen Bevirt ​told Reuters.

• "So, this allows our commercial ​team to be laser focused ‌on delivering on the air taxi mission," while potentially opening new markets for Joby by pairing its products with Resonant's technologies, Bevirt said.

• Shares of Santa Cruz, California-based Joby fell 6.5% in premarket trading.

• Joby expects to fund the deal with about $450 million in cash ‌and $50 million in its common stock.

• The ​deal, expected to close in the ​first half of 2027, will ​give the combined company about 1 million square ‌feet of manufacturing, integration and testing ​space across the ​Dayton region.

• Upon closing, Resonant will become Joby's dedicated defense business and include its hybrid aircraft and autonomy technologies, while Joby's ​commercial aircraft business will ‌remain focused on its electric air taxi initiatives.

(Reporting by Anshuman ​Tripathy in Bengaluru and Dan Catchpole in Seattle; Editing ​by Maju Samuel and Sonali Paul)