Cargo UAV maker Dronamics targets US stock market listing via SPAC merger
Transaction values combined company at $500 million, including new investment.
Bulgarian uncrewed cargo aircraft manufacturer Dronamics is to join the US Nasdaq stock exchange via a proposed merger with an already listed business.
Valuing Dronamics at $400 million, the combination with a so-called special purpose acquisition vehicle, or SPAC, will enable the firm to accelerate its growth plan, it says.
The two companies say they hope to raise $100 million from the transaction – including from share sales and GPAT’s existing funds – but promise a minimum of $25 million will be “added to Dronamics’ balance sheet at closing”.
Based on the planned $100 million cash injection, it says the new company will have a total estimated value of $500 million.
“As part of the broader financing plan, GPAT’s co-sponsors and certain existing Dronamics investors have entered into convertible loan financing arrangements, a portion of which has already been funded,” the pair state.
Following the merger, existing shareholders, a mix of Dronamics’ founders Konstantin and Svilen Rangelov and external funders, including the UAE’s Strategic Development Fund (SDF), it’s largest backer, will remain invested in the business, holding stakes of around 12% and 67%, respectively.
$400 billion market
Dronamics argues that it represents a strong investment opportunity, given what it sees as a $400 billion total addressable market across cargo logistics, aerial surveying and defence applications, which it can address with its Black Swan platform.
A fixed-wing, autonomous drone, the Black Swan is powered by a single Rotax 140hp (104kW) piston engine. Dronamics says it is capable of carrying a payload of up to 350kg (700lb) and covering distances of up to 1,350nm (2,500km).
Additionally, the company points to its modest cash consumption of just $80 million since its founding in 2014 – significantly less than most of its peers, and less again compared with those in the electric vertical take-off and landing space.
Dronamics plans to address the market for middle-mile logistics by operating the aircraft itself. It has already secured an EU-wide drone airline licence and a binding agreement with logistics firm Hellmann which pledges to take 30% of Dronamics’ cargo capacity.
Based on its existing tentative commercial agreements, the firm sees a requirement for more than 730 Black Swan aircraft in the cargo segment alone.
Defence capabilities
On the defence side, Dronamics touts cargo, surveillance – leveraging a partnership with sensor provider Hensoldt – and anti-drone operations as potential use-cases for the Black Swan.
In the latter case, the company says drone interceptors could be carried either inside the fuselage “and released during flight via a special mechanism” or on under-wing hardpoints.
Dronamics is also developing a smaller tactical platform it calls the Black Cygnet. Featuring a 4m (13ft) wingspan and 2m-long fuselage, it will have a 430nm range and is suitable for surveillance or reconnaissance missions, or for use as “single-use effector”.
Assembly of the Black Swan and Cygnet currently takes place in Bulgaria, but a 2023 joint-venture agreement with SDF provides for the establishment of a mass-production facility in the UAE capable of building 300 aircraft annually. This facility was supposed to have come on stream last year.
However, Dronamics has not said how many Black Swans it has built so far, disclosing only in a timeline that the “second and third full-scale aircraft [have been] manufactured” at some point prior to 2026.
Additionally, the company has not revealed any revenue figures as part of its presentation and did not respond to additional questions from FlightGlobal.
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