Astrocast Acquires Hiber

Laussane, Switzerland, June 1, 2022–Astrocast, a nanosatellite IoT network operator, today announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Hiber, a Netherlands-based, IoT-as-a-Service provider. Under the agreement, Astrocast agreed to acquire all of Hiber’s shares in exchange for the issuance of new Astrocast shares, representing 16.5% of Astrocast’s share capital, calculated prior to its previously announced public offering on Euronext Growth Paris. Hiber’s shareholders also agreed to invest €10.45 million in Astrocast’s public offering.

Hiber provides asset monitoring and tracking solutions to industrial customers, through satellite-connected devices that allow customers to monitor and track assets in remote locations. Its services include wellhead monitoring for major oil and gas companies and asset tracking for off-grid worksites in sectors such as agriculture, forestry, and mining. Its business model is based on multi-year subscriptions covering sensors, network hardware, satellite connectivity and a dashboard.

Astrocasts listed some benefits of the Hiber acquisition, including:

  • It expands Astrocast’s distribution strategy by establishing a direct-to-end user sales channel 
  • It accelerates Astrocast’s OEM strategy by increasing the development of additional satellite-enabled IoT devices
  • It expands Astrocast’s portfolio of products and services by adding the HiberHilo remote oil well monitoring solution and Hiber Easypulse asset tracking solution 
  • It adds coverage of the Americas region, based on Hiber’s access to L-band spectrum, through its agreement with Inmarsat
  • It brings onboard 50+ highly skilled and experienced IoT specialists, who have unique technical capabilities and understanding of customer IoT needs across multiple verticals
  • It expands Astrocast’s sales team by adding Hiber’s sales force and creating cross-sell opportunities
  • Since Hiber’s customers include ExxonMobil, Shell, Oil Search, NAM and ENI, the combined group will also have additional exposure to clients in the energy industry and the ability to support their transition to renewable energy production

In addition, Astrocast’s sales and go-to-market strategy will be expanded by adding a direct-to-market sales channel in select verticals. This will complement Astrocast’s existing partner sales strategy. Hiber’s expertise within oil & gas will enable Astrocast to further penetrate this market. By combining Astrocast and Hiber’s technical expertise, Astrocast will also be able to better leverage end-users and accelerate its OEM strategy, according to the company/.

“We’ve carefully monitored Hiber’s impressive shift in strategy over the past few years. Hiber is recognised as a powerful IoT scale-up within the market. Hiber’s focus on satellite-enabled IoT solutions, innovation and production aligns with Astrocast’s strategic go-to-market priorities for 2022 and beyond. We’re excited to welcome Hiber to the growing Astrocast team,” said  Fabien Jordan, CEO of Astrocast.