Redwire has acquired Techshot, a space biotech company that got its start in 1988. The companies did not disclose terms of the space M&A deal, which was announced yesterday. The acquisition comes almost exactly two months after Redwire completed its SPAC merger.
Techshot 101: The Indiana company develops space bioprinters and other biotech devices for microgravity. Techshot products, such as the “multi-use variable-gravity platform” or “bone densitometer,” sound like they were lifted straight from a sci-fi screenwriter’s manuscript.
But the products are real. Four of Techshot’s payloads are currently at the ISS. On the company’s roadmap are a 3D printer for electronic components and pharma manufacturing devices.
Redwire, itself the product of a private equity-driven merger, is building a space portfolio via M&A. The space conglomerate is an Orbital Reef partner and self-described commercial space platform.
- Here on Earth, a platform is sometimes defined as a technology or tool that generates more economic value than that of its creator. While that’s a tough sniff test for commercial space infrastructure today, more than one company believes it’s within reach.
Sensing a pattern? Redwire says it now owns 25+ off-world commercial facilities that “have flown, are in development, or currently operating” at the ISS.
Widening the aperture: Space companies have used SPACs to not only go public, but also acquire others. With more SPACs in the pipeline, expect more consolidation.
