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 Posté le: Mar Oct 01, 2013 9:21 am Sujet du message: Local space tech pioneer goes public via reverse I |
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{Local space tech pioneer goes public via reverse IPO}
Ready to launch: Scott Larson, CEO of UrtheCast, which raised $46 million through a reverse IPO to fund its space-based video streaming service|Dominic SchaeferBy Nelson BennettTue Jul 9, 2013 12:01am PSTA Vancouver company that plans to stream video of Earth from space is among the first Canadian high-tech companies to go public since Vancouver’s Avigilon Corp. (TSX:AVO) in 2011.UrtheCast Corp. (TSX:UR) went public June 27 through a reverse takeover of Longford Energy Inc.,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler on sale[/url], a $30 million shell company that was originally set up as a resource business.UrtheCast (pronounced earthcast) was one of four Canadian high-tech companies (two in Ontario, one in Saskatchewan) to go public on the TSX in recent weeks – something analysts read as a sign of a tech stock comeback. “That would be considered a very active calendar,” said Kathy Butler, managing director of investment banking for CIBC World Markets. “Avigilon was the last tech IPO,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]discount moncler jackets[/url],[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]discount moncler jackets[/url], and now we’ve had four in recent weeks.“We’re viewing a definite shift in investor sentiment toward growth stocks, and technology is one area of growth that investors are interested in.”This fall, UrtheCast plans to send two high-definition cameras into space to be attached to the International Space Station.Sometime in 2014’s first half, the company and the Russian Federal Space Agency plan to start streaming the first near real-time high-definition video of Earth from space.Founded in 2010,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler sale[/url], UrtheCast was an idea spun out of MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX:MDA), which is providing UrtheCast with $4.2 million worth of backend electronics.Wade Larson, a former MDA executive, is co-founder and executive vice-president of Urthe Cast, and his brother Scott Larson is CEO.The company was initially funded by Business Instincts Group, the Calgary-based accelerator that nursed the company from startup to IPO.UrtheCast had originally planned to have its cameras in space by now,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler sale[/url], but problems raising capital set the project back.The reverse IPO, which raised $46 million,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler outlet[/url], solves the company’s financing problems. UrtheCast also has $18 million in commitments from distributors to buy data.Longford was originally set up to invest in the energy sector,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler down jackets[/url], but Business Instincts Group CEO Cameron Chell – another Urthe Cast co-founder – said Longford’s board saw the investment potential in a reverse takeover.He pointed out that listing on the TSX can take $1 million and six months. Through the reverse takeover, UrtheCast gained a listing on the TSX in half the time and at half the cost, not to mention $30 million in cash, plus roughly $18 million in private placements.“In one fell swoop,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler outlet[/url], they got their cash and went public at the same time,” Chell said.He agreed that the recent deal with Longford suggests Canadian tech stocks might be back in vogue.“The gentlemen on the Longford board are very significant players on Bay Street,” he said, “and to me that’s a signal that the market’s going this way.”Scott Larson believes it’s not just tech stocks that are back in vogue.“Space is popular again, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “Ten or 15 years ago, space probably wasn’t that popular, but now you’ve got lots of commercial space companies.”UrtheCast has 28 employees in Vancouver and six in San Francisco. Larson expects those numbers to at least double in the coming months.UrtheCast’s shares were valued at $1.85 on the first day of trading on the TSX June 27.“A blend between Google Earth and YouTube”Scott Larson describes UrtheCast as a “blend between Google Earth and YouTube.” It will stream HD video of Earth in near real time, and the public will have access to images over the Internet.There are two cameras, being built by Rutherford Appleton Labs in the U.K., at $10 million apiece. One is a fixed, medium-resolution camera, capturing a 50-kilometre wide swath, at a resolution of five metres.The second is an HD video camera mounted on a platform that allows it to swivel and take 90-second video captures at a resolution of one metre. At that resolution viewers will be able to see cars and crowds of people.UrtheCast’s main customer will be the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), which uses satellite imagery for agricultural, forestry and environmental monitoring projects.With UrtheCast streaming, shipping and oil companies would be able to get near-real-time video of oil spills at sea or on land, along with many other natural or manmade disasters and conflicts.There are countries UrtheCast can’t sell data to, and there are areas of the world it can’t image. Countries considered hostile will not be granted access to streaming data.However, the general public will be able to view a range of video,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler down jackets[/url], including natural events.Had cameras been operating in 2004, for example, people might have been able to witness the Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand by viewing 90-second clips.“I firmly believe we’ll capture images that no one has ever seen before,” Larson said.Tags: disaster, stocks, electronics,[url=http://www.moncler-sale.org]moncler on sale[/url], internet, banking, Avigilon Corp., UrtheCast
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