Coda Octopus Group, Inc. (“CODA” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: CODA),
a global market leader in 3D/4D/5D/6D imaging sonar technology for
real time subsea intelligence and cutting-edge diving technology,
today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Precision
Acoustics Limited, based in Dorchester, UK, in close proximity to
the Company’s subsidiary, Coda Octopus Martech Limited.
Precision Acoustics was formed in 1997 and is
well established as a leading technical authority to the MHz
ultrasound and acoustic measurement markets and is a global leader
in the field of hydrophone design and other acoustic-related
technologies which have wide application but are currently
primarily used in the medical imaging and Non-Destructive Testing
(NDT) markets. It is a leading innovator, developer and worldwide
supplier of products, materials and customized services to the MHz
ultrasound markets and has a sizable market share. Over many years,
it has formed close working relationships with a number of national
and global standard setting bodies (whose mandate is to set the
national primary and measurement standards) and with academic
institutions worldwide to further ultrasound research. Precision
Acoustics has also authored many leading publications in this
area.
Prior to the acquisition, the Company worked
with Precision Acoustics on a number of underwater acoustic related
research and development projects, and they have supplied the
Company with their proprietary acoustic materials used for the
Echoscope® and DAVD technology solutions.
They bring to the Group substantial acoustic
thought leadership and expertise combined with years of domain
knowledge and a complementary range of acoustic-related
technologies which are today unleveraged in the underwater
acoustics space (since their primary focus has been on medical
imaging and NDT). Many of the Precision Acoustics technologies have
subsea applications and the Company believes that it can leverage
these in the underwater acoustic market which it has been a
supplier to over 30 years. The acquisition of Precision Acoustics
positions the Group to expand its offerings and solutions.
Annmarie Gayle, CODA’s Chairman and CEO,
commented: “This was a carefully considered acquisition, and we are
excited to have gained the trust and confidence of the Precision
Acoustics team and complete the acquisition. It brings deep and
established expertise in acoustics along with a wide range of
products currently used in the medical imaging space and NDT
fields, which is leverageable in the underwater commercial marine
and Defense market. The combined strengths of Precision Acoustic
and the rest of our Group companies, positions the Group to offer
much more to the Defense Engineering space and the offshore
underwater space and will bolster the Groups growth strategy.
Finally, in their financial year ended December 2023, they
generated $4m in revenue and net profit of approximately $450k. We
believe that combining our marketing and sales resources will also
help to increase their footprint and therefore revenue and profits.
The purchase price was paid in cash and no equity was allocated as
part of this transaction. This is the first of a number of
acquisitions we are considering. As I have always said, we have
built the foundation for organic growth around our underwater
technologies – the Echoscope® and DAVD. We are now looking to
complement our growth opportunities through our well-architected
and executed M&A strategy”.
Dr. Andrew Hurrell, Principal Research Physicist
of Precision Acoustics said “My colleagues and I are very excited
to be able to bring our expertise, knowledge and skills to the
broader Coda Octopus Group, where there are significant synergies
in our skills set and customer base. We see the opportunities to
join forces and combine our joint offerings thus providing a more
complete solution for our common customers. At Precision Acoustics,
we already have a large portfolio of clients that use our
hydrophones, acoustic materials and test environments both for
research and increasingly in non-destructive testing and medical
applications, and the resources of a larger Group with
electro-mechanical engineering capability and leading products in
underwater technologies, will enable us to provide more functional
solutions and even more complete solutions to our customers. It
also opens opportunities to establish Precision Acoustics offerings
and capabilities in the underwater market”.
The Company paid a net cash purchase price of
$5,160,000. The acquisition agreement also provides for a
contingent payment of up to $1,290,000 over 3 years subject to
meeting the performance milestone targets (earn out targets)
provided for in the acquisition agreement.
About Coda Octopus Group,
Inc.
The Company, founded in 1994, is an established
supplier to the Underwater/Subsea market. It supplies a range of
hardware and software solutions to this market which includes key
proprietary real time 4D/5D/6D imaging sonars, marketed under the
name Echoscope® and Echoscope PIPE® addressing the underwater
imaging sensor market along with new generation diving technology,
Diver Augmented Vision Display (DAVD) system. The Company’s
Echoscope PIPE® sonar generates real-time 3D/4D/5D images of
moving objects underwater including in zero visibility water
conditions. The Echoscope® technology is used globally for numerous
applications in both the commercial offshore market and defense
underwater markets. Applications for the Echoscope® technology
include complex mapping underwater, subsea intervention, subsea
asset placements, salvage and recovery, search and rescue, offshore
renewables cable installations and surveys, marine construction,
subsea infrastructure installation, mining applications, robotics
(3D Perception and Depth), breakwater construction and monitoring,
decommissioning, diving applications and port and harbor
security.
The recently launched new generation of diving
technology, DAVD, has the potential to change the way global diving
operations are performed (both in the Defense and Commercial space)
because it is a fully integrated singular system for topside
control and fully connected diver HUD system, allowing both the
topside and diver to share a range of critical information and
visualize the same underwater scene. Furthermore, the DAVD
integrates the Company’s sonar technology, which allows dive
operations to be performed in zero visibility conditions, a common
problem that besets these operations.
The Company also includes two discrete Defense
engineering businesses Coda Octopus Martech Ltd (UK based) and Coda
Octopus Colmek, Inc. (US based) whose primary business model is to
supply sub-assemblies into broader mission critical programs in the
capacity of sub-contractors to the Prime Defense Contractors. Their
scope of supply under these programs typically includes concept,
design, prototype, manufacturing, and post-sale support. This gives
them the opportunity to have repeat orders for these sub-assemblies
through the life of these programs.
For further information, please visit
http://www.codaoctopusgroup.com or contact us at
coda@codaoctopusgroup.com.
Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking
statements concerning Coda Octopus Group, Inc. within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
When used in this document, the words “may”, “would”, “could”,
“will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”,
“expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward‐looking statements. Those forward-looking statements
include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's
expectations for the growth of the Company's operations and
revenue. Such statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, and actual circumstances, events or results may
differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences
include, but are not limited to, restrictions on our business
operations due to the Pandemic, customer demand for our products
and market prices; the outcome of our ongoing research and
development efforts relating to our products including our patented
real time 3D solutions; our ability to develop the sales force
required to achieve our development and other examples of forward
looking statement set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended October 31, 2023, filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on January 29, 2024. Coda Octopus Group, Inc.
does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation to
update or revise such statements to reflect new circumstances or
unanticipated events as they occur.
Contact:
Geoff TurnerCoda Octopus Group, Inc.1- 407-768-
0988coda.ir@codaoctopusgroup.com
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