Nordic Unmanned reinforces its position in Europe by investing in leading Belgian drone company DroneMatrix
Nordic Unmanned has entered into an agreement giving the company control of 55 per cent of the shares in DroneMatrix, a leading drone technology company in Belgium. The investment will strengthen Nordic Unmanned’s position in Europe, complement existing solutions in every market vertical, and accelerates the growth and development of DroneMatrix.
“The partnership with DroneMatrix enables both companies to scale their commercial offerings through new services and solutions. DroneMatrix’s fully autonomous AI-powered Drone-In-A-Box solution will add significant value to all our verticals, especially the Security vertical. Furthermore, the fact that the technology is proven, with success in the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, ensures immediate scalability that will affect the Nordic Unmanned order backlog and 2022 revenues positively. The solution will immediately be added to Nordic Unmanned’s portfolio and be added to our LUC flight permit,”
Knut Roar Wiig, CEO Nordic Unmanned
Leading European drone technology company
DroneMatrix is a leading European drone technology company implementing Drone-In-A-Box solutions, including autonomous drones, intelligent docking stations and proprietary AI-based software allowing autonomous drones to detect and follow objects. Drone-In-A-Box is emerging as a growth segment within the drone industry. It represents the next phase of industry development as it allows for centralized, remote operations of drones, enabling rapid upscaling of lightweight drone operations.
DroneMatrix was recently awarded a breakthrough contract by the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. The three-year service contract, commencing in the third quarter of 2022, includes six Drone-In-A-Box units distributed across the port. The drones will be used for autonomous monitoring of the port. In addition, the drone solution will be used on-demand to inspect for oil leaks, assist in emergency situations, rail inspections and parameter control. This contract represents the largest of its kind awarded so far in Europe and opens for multi-client sharing of the service and data collected.
“DroneMatrix is ready for a partnership with a solid, like-minded, and ambitious business partner to realise the promising opportunities and enable future ambitious growth plans. We have found a solid partner in Nordic Unmanned, the global leader in drone systems and services. The partnership enables us to scale our company and solutions while continuing running the operations and shaping our identity,”
DroneMatrix CEO Lander Vanwelkenhuyzen
Capital for scale-up and further development of the company
Nordic Unmanned will, through share purchase and an equity issue, obtain control of 55 per cent of the shares of DroneMatrix. The share purchase of EUR 0.975 million will be settled on closing, expected at end of Q2. The EUR 1.5 million equity contribution will be fully paid before the end of 2022. The contributed equity will ensure capital for the scale-up and further development of the company.
The transaction reflects a valuation of DroneMatrix on an enterprise value basis of EUR 3 million. Within the next three years, Nordic Unmanned will acquire the remaining shares based on a pre-agreed performance-based valuation matrix, with a minimum valuation of EUR 3 million and a maximum valuation of EUR 8 million on an enterprise value basis. Until then, the outstanding 45 per cent of the shares remain with the founders of DroneMatrix, the Vanwelkenhuyzen family.
Founder Frank Vanwelkenhuyzen, CEO Lander Vanwelkenhuyzen and the current management team will continue to oversee the operations and the future development of the company.
“We are very excited about the identified synergies between Nordic Unmanned and DroneMatrix. The combination of Drone-In-A-Box solutions and our BG Rail and BG Cargo drones will enable us to advance our planned services within rail, and cargo delivery onshore and offshore. The Nordic Unmanned Operation Centre will remotely control the Drone-In-A-Box operations. In addition, Nordic Unmanned will gain access to the Benelux market for our existing portfolio of solutions and services,”
Knur Roar Wiig, CEO Nordic Unmanned
DroneMatrix had revenues of EUR 324,000 and a gross margin of 77 per cent in 2021. Revenues for 2022 are expected to double.
“DroneMatrix has been at the forefront of the development of Drone-In-A-Box solutions for a number of years. They have tested the use case with early adopters, and it is now believed that several industries are ready to take on board this new technology in the very near future. We see a significant increase in interest and use cases around the DroneMatrix solution and believe that the timing is perfect for accelerating the rollout of these products to a wider market,”
Steffan Lindsø, CTO Nordic Unmanned
The existing solution is currently deployed and operating in the Port of Antwerp and on a large solar power plant in Spain.
Disclosure regulation
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
About Nordic Unmanned
Nordic Unmanned delivers comprehensive data solutions through industry leading expertise, to assist both public and private customers in the transition to unmanned technology. The focus is to support demanding clients by collecting time-critical data with the use of unmanned technology.
Founded in 2014, the company has offices in Sandnes, Oslo and Frankfurt, and has quickly become one of Europe’s leading providers of unmanned systems and services, with operations across the continent. The company is ISO 9001-2015 certified by DNV-GL for the operation, maintenance and sales of unmanned systems and sensor technology. Nordic Unmanned is listed on Euronext Growth Oslo (NUMND).
About DroneMatrix
DroneMatrix is a leading hi-tech company building and implementing the next generation of aerial robotic technology. These automated intelligent drone solutions are safe, reliable and flexible to implement in any kind of industrial environment.
Central in the offering is a highly reliable ‘drone-in-a-box’ technology (YACOB), characterized by high quality and highly reliable data connectivity and controlled based on a flawless and comprehensive Command & Control UOM platform, the Aerial Robotic Worksystem (AR-WS).
DroneMatrix is the founding father of unmanned drone technology in Belgium and is responsible for the development of the commercial air layer operated by aerial robotics (6th NeTWorK). DroneMatrix is committed to making its mark in a growing global unmanned market through important references and solid partnerships.
Founded in 2015 by the family Vanwelkenhuyzen and located in Hasselt, Belgium.
For more information, please visit www.dronematrix.eu
