Illustration of MDA Space’s Chorus maritime surveillance spacecraft. Credit: MDA Space
TOKYO — Canadian company MDA Space is buying a French Earth data analytics company in its second big acquisition in recent weeks, part of wave of mergers and acquisitions in the space industry.
MDA Space announced July 8 it would acquire 70% of Collecte Localisation Satellites, or CLS, for 567 million euros ($648 million) in cash. The French space agency CNES would retain its 30% stake in CLS as part of the deal, which is expected to close late this year or early next year.
CLS is a 40-year-old company with 1,200 employees that has focused on analyzing Earth observation data from various sources, including synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery and ocean topographic data from a series of joint European-American satellites. It also does maritime traffic monitoring using satellite data. CLS reported 203 million euros in revenue in 2025.
In a presentation about the deal, Mike Greenley, chief executive of MDA Space, said the acquisition would give his company, which operates SAR satellites, new analytics capabilities for that imagery as well as new distribution channels for it.
