Redwire has acquired Roccor, a disruptive military and commercial hardware supplier in the rapidly growing smallsat market and a manufacturer of deployable booms, structures, antennas, thermal products, and solar arrays for the space industry — terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 2012, Roccor’s satellite technologies, solutions, and products are helping to revolutionize spaceflight and are currently being used on missions with NASA, the Department of Defense as well as several commercial space companies. Based in Colorado, Roccor has a proven performance record with more than 75 successfully launched systems in orbit today with additional systems planned to launch next year.
Roccor marks the fourth acquisition by Redwire this year. Redwire was formed in June 2020 following the strategic acquisition of Deep Space Systems and Adcole Space by AE Industrial Partners, LP, a private equity firm specializing in aerospace, defense and government services, power generation, and the specialty industrial markets. Redwire subsequently acquired Made In Space in June, a leader in on-orbit space manufacturing technology.
With the acquisition of Roccor, the Redwire technology portfolio will expand to include high performance and low-cost deployable structure systems designed for commercial and military satellites. Roccor’s specialized products, including stand-alone booms, hinges, solar arrays, and antennas, will augment Redwire’s current space infrastructure solutions to offer more innovative capabilities and deliver even greater performance at substantially lower costs for its customers.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP served as the financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as the legal advisor to Redwire. Sparks Willson, P.C. was the legal advisor and Near Earth LLC served as the financial advisor to Roccor.
Executive Comments
“AE Industrial set out to build Redwire because we recognized a need to bring together fast-growing yet established innovators with companies that possess extensive flight heritage,” said Kirk Konert, partner at AEI. “Roccor brings added capabilities, an impressive customer list, and an incredible workforce that we are confident will achieve amazing results as part of Redwire.”
“Roccor is exactly the type of company we are looking to add to the Redwire platform—a proven, growth company with a list of top-tier customers, that is also an industry disruptor,” said Peter Cannito, Chairman and CEO of Redwire. “We are very excited to work closely with the talented Roccor team to build on their tremendous success and accelerate their advanced technologies.”
“Redwire is an exciting company at the forefront of space innovation and development and joining the platform will present Roccor with new opportunities that will lead to the next level of growth,” said Chris Pearson, who will continue to lead Roccor as President. “The global satellite industry is growing rapidly, and the financial and operational support from Redwire and AE Industrial will allow us to keep pace with the demands of a constantly evolving industry.”
