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AEVEX to Buy BlackSea for Up to $650 Million After Q2 Revenue Surge

The deal pairs AEVEX’s CompassX autonomy software with BlackSea’s high-rate unmanned surface vessel factory to deepen Navy and special-operations access.

Overview

  • AEVEX announced a definitive agreement on Aug. 13, 2026 to acquire BlackSea Technologies for up to $650 million while reporting Q2 revenue of $201.8 million and net income of $6.7 million.
  • The purchase price is structured as about $250 million in cash, roughly $350 million in AEVEX Class A stock and up to $50 million in performance-based earnouts, and the companies expect the deal to close in September 2026.
  • BlackSea operates a 57,000-square-foot Baltimore facility with deepwater access and robotic welding that the company says can produce about 40 unmanned surface vessels per month and is forecast to generate roughly $150 million in fiscal 2026 revenue.
  • AEVEX’s recent IPO and secondary share sale boosted cash to more than $215 million and allowed material debt paydown earlier in 2026, enabling the company to raise its full-year revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance while financing the acquisition.
  • AEVEX plans to integrate its CompassX autonomy stack with BlackSea platforms to enable coordinated air-surface-undersea operations and GPS-denied navigation, a move that could speed naval adoption of scalable USV production and broaden access to Navy and Special Operations customers.