1Spatial, the UK-based geospatial validation and integration specialist, has changed ownership. The investment group IQ Holdings has orchestrated a reverse takeover, where they have purchased control of the private company and will take it public, with plans to rename the combined company 1Spatial Holdings plc in order to reflect the new business strategy. The strong financial performance of the company, with seven years of profitability and a stable set of large enterprise customers, have made it an attractive target.
Among the company’s clients is the Ordnance Survey, Environment Agency, Vodafone, Royal Air Force, and the Scottish Government. The bulk of the company’s success has been in Europe and Asia Pacific, and the announcement of the switch in ownership indicates that these geographies will be the primary focus going forward.
The Cambridge-based company has a rich history in the geospatial community, starting as a digitization company in 1969 as Laser-Scan. The early hardware focus of using lasers to scan images shifted to software in 1996, and the company changed its name to 1Spatial in 2006. The company’s work with large mapping agencies and large private companies has centered on geospatial data management.
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Are you sure about the mechanics? Traditionally a reverse takeover is a way for a private company (1Spatial) to become publicly traded without having to actually go through an offering process. They buy an empty publicly traded shell (IQ Holdings) and take over control of it. The “reverse” part is a side-effect of the fiction that the publicly traded entity is the one doing the acquisition. Note that IQ Holdings is acquiring the shares of 1Spatial, but 1Spatial is taking over the board of IQ Holdings. Happens all the time in shadier areas of the world (like Vancouver!). Does someone want to cash out of 1Spatial a bit?
Paul, thanks for the clarification on this. I looked into the meaning of reverse takeover, but obviously got it flipped and have corrected the post. The combined name is proposed to be 1Spatial Holdings, which seems to indicate a further acquisition strategy. Looking at the makeup of the new board, they seem well poised to extend the services side of the business.