New deal brings Canadarm firm home
TORONTO The space technology firm behind the iconic Canadarm is returning home after being bought by an investor group that includes prominent business leaders John Risley and Jim Balsillie.
The $1-billion deal to acquire MDA — once-known as Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates — from Colorado-based Maxar Technologies Inc., will see the company’s headquarters move back to Canada, the group said.
Balsillie, the former CO-CEO of Blackberry Inc., is also expected to take a seat on the company’s board of directors.
Northern Private Capital, an investment firm connected to Risley, who co-founded Clearwater Fine Foods, is leading the transaction, which comes amid a spike in interest in space-based technologies.
“We think that the space sector has got a real tailwind behind it, and we think that this company is as well-positioned as any to capitalize on that in a more diversified way,” Andrew Lapham, NPC’S chief executive, said in an interview Monday.
A source close to the acquisition said that separating MDA from Maxar will give the space technology firm more room to pursue partnerships with other companies active in the rapidly growing sector.
In the past few years, the price to launch a small satellite into low Earth orbit has come down dramatically, opening up new business opportunities, leading to a flood of new players in space.
Elon Musk’s Spacex is building an array of satellites known as Starlink, which are supposed to provide internet services from space, while Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos has a rocket company, Blue Origin.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Apple Inc. also has a team working on satellite technology for sending data directly to iphones. Adding to the buzz, U.S. President Donald Trump recently signed a defence spending bill to formally create a U.S. Space Force.
Lapham said the investment group plans on leaving the company ’s current leadership in place, with MDA group president Mike Greenley remaining in his role.
Balsillie, he said, would join the board once the transaction closed.
“We are thrilled to have Jim in the ownership group. He’s going to take a seat on the board of the company and we think his expertise and his understanding of how to grow technologies and how to grow global businesses, we think it’s invaluable here,” Lapham said.
Balsillie has been a champion for the Canadian tech community in recent years, helping to foster homegrown companies through the Council of Canadian Innovators, which he helped found. He has also been one of the loudest voices warning about the risks caused by foreign ownership of big tech.
Lapham said the group is buying MDA because they think it is an exciting business, but noted that the ability to repatriate the company was an added bonus.
“You wouldn’t do it just for national pride, but we’re thrilled to bring this company back to Canada,” he said.
In 2017, MDA merged with Digitalglobe in a deal that resulted in the company headquarters moving to Colorado, with the combined entity adopting the name Maxar Technologies.