omniture

Established Underwater Drone Company Set to IPO on ASX

2017-03-22 11:55 2899

This communication is not for publication or distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America, including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States of America and the District of Colombia (collectively, the U.S.). This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale into the U.S. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the U.S., except pursuant to an applicable exemption from registration. No public offering of securities is being made in the U.S.

UUV Aquabotix Ltd (ACN 616 062 072) (the Company) lodged a prospectus for the initial public offer of its securities with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on 14 March 2017 (Prospectus). The issuer of the securities under the Prospectus is the Company. The Prospectus is available and can be obtained by contacting the Company at investors@aquabotix.com or alternatively, you can obtain a copy of the Prospectus from the website of the Company at www.aquabotix.com/investors. The initial public offer of the Company's securities is made in the Prospectus. All persons should consider the Prospectus in deciding whether to acquire securities in the Company. Anyone who wants to acquire securities in the Company will need to complete an application form that will be in or will accompany the Prospectus.

  • An underwater robotics company.
  • Raising A$5.1 million to A$7 million in an ASX IPO.
  • Substantial sales growth in a nascent industry.
  • A US$4 billion addressable market projected by 2020 according to Markets and Markets.
  • Backed by industry insiders.
  • Highly-differentiated from the competition.

SYDNEY, March 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aquabotix Technology Corporation (Aquabotix) is a six-year old, unique and established underwater robotics company. It manufactures commercial/industrial grade Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (also known as "UUVs" and "underwater drones"), and commercial/industrial networked underwater cameras, in the United States.

 

Two of Aquabotix’s commercial grade UUVs -- Endura and Hybrid
Two of Aquabotix’s commercial grade UUVs -- Endura and Hybrid

The underwater drone industry has no dominant players, but Aquabotix is a leader in low-cost commercial/industrial grade underwater drones. Aquabotix's four product lines (and ten product models) are highly differentiated from the limited competition. They are simple to use, highly functional, and inexpensive. Importantly, Aquabotix is one of very few companies globally with a "hybrid" UUV solution, which is capable of both autonomous and remote human operation.

Unlike most of its purported competition, Aquabotix's products are not just a concept. Aquabotix has shipped approximately 350 underwater drones since sales commenced in 2011. Its sales were approximately A$1,100,000 (US$800,000) in the calendar 2016, up approximately 80% relative to the calendar 2015. Industry analysts have estimated that the addressable market Aquabotix operates in will be approximately US$4 billion in 2020.1

UUVs are used in a number of industries -- defence, law enforcement, public safety, marina and boat underwater inspection, marine inspection and construction, port security, pipeline inspection, aquaculture, potable water management, and research and marine biology. Customers who have purchased Aquabotix's products include BP, ConEdison, Duke Energy, Broadspectrum, California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS), Pittsburgh Tank & Tower Group, U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

In the defence industry in particular, Aquabotix plans to build on its past orders from the U.S. Navy On 5 December 2016, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it planned to invest as much as US$3 billion in an effort to build and field UUVs for surveillance operations. This is particularly relevant given that the U.S. Defense Science Board has recently publicly recommended that the Navy adopt commercial grade assets and deploy "larger numbers of low-cost assets" in the undersea domain, where, according to the Defense Science Board, "quantity has a quality of its own." A recent Bloomberg Government article has specifically singled out Aquabotix's and one other company's products as the kind of commercial products that may be relevant to this doctrine of commercial product adoption in the unmanned Navy space.

UUV Aquabotix Ltd (ASX: UUV) (the Company), an Australian company, is conducting an IPO of the Aquabotix business on the Australian Securities Exchange (the ASX) and will operate the Aquabotix business going forward. The Company is headed by CEO and Aquabotix's founder Durval Tavares, formerly with the United States Naval Undersea Warfare Center and then Fidelity Investments (where he was a senior executive in product delivery). The board and management team include high profile industry executives, including:

  • Peter James, the current chairman of the boards of nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA), Macquarie Telecom Group (ASX: MAQ) and DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO),
  • Jay Cohen, a former Chief of Naval Research (United States Navy) and former U.S. Department of the Navy Chief Technology Officer, and
  • Brendan Martin, a former senior strategy executive at Broadspectrum Ltd (ASX: BRS), a global services company recently acquired by Ferrovial Servicios for approximately A$1.24 billion.

The Company is backed by a U.S. institutional investor that also backed the recent successful Australian IPO of DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO), one of the best Australian "tech" IPOs of 2016 in terms of post-IPO share price performance.

Aquabotix’s Endura inspecting port-side infrastructure
Aquabotix’s Endura inspecting port-side infrastructure

The Company is aiming to raise A$5.1 million to A$7 million in connection with an IPO to facilitate a listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (the ASX) through the issue of up to 35 million shares at an issue price of A$0.20 per share, with offers due to close on 19 April 2017. The Company has reserved discretion to close the IPO early.

Once listed, the Company will have a market capitalisation of A$27 million (based on the IPO issue price of $0.20 each and the maximum subscription of A$7 million being raised).

Funds raised from the IPO will be used for to establish an in-house sales force, expand the Company's distributor network (and establish a global distributor network), develop distribution in the Company's target geographic and industry markets, develop its pre-sale and post-sale support capabilities, and expand its executive team, with a particular focus on business development. The funds will also enable the Company to further scale Aquabotix's existing technology, adapt its products to meet unique customer demands as they arise, develop its product range and expand its manufacturing capability.

To view the Prospectus please click www.aquabotix.com/investors.

Media Contact:
Brendan Martin
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +61 (0)2 8226 8665
E-mail: bmartin@aquabotix.com

[1] http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/unmanned-underwater-vehicles-market-140710720.html

Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20170322/8521701890-a
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20170322/8521701890-b
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20170322/8521701890LOGO

Source: Aquabotix
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