OPT acquires autonomous surface vehicle manufacturer

Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) has acquired California-based developer and manufacturer of autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) Marine Advanced Robotics.

The acquisition is said to immediately provide OPT with an established, innovative offshore product line that features roaming capability and highly complements the company’s business strategy.

The deal saw $11 million paid at closing, consisting of $4 million in cash and $7 million in OPT common stock (3,330,162 shares).

The Marine Advanced Robotics’ management team and employees have joined OPT, but the company will continue to operate under its current brand name as a wholly owned subsidiary of OPT.

Philipp Stratmann, OPT’s president and CEO, said: “The acquisition of Marine Advanced Robotics is a continuation of OPT’s long-term growth strategy to expand our market value proposition, specifically in the growing Maritime Domain Awareness sector.

“We believe that our collective product and solutions portfolio will allow OPT to deliver real-time data to a wide variety of market opportunities”.

Mark Gundersen, president and CEO of Marine Advanced Robotics, added: “We believe that our ultra-light vessel technology aligns extremely well with OPT’s offshore power and data solutions and engineering services.

“With over 70 of WAM-Vs (Wave Adaptive Modular Vessels) in 10 countries, we are changing the way humans go to sea. Together I am confident that we can accelerate the growth of our WAM-V platform in defense and commercial markets”.