MDA Space announced the acquisition June 19. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approvals that include a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS.
Blue Canyon Technologies, founded in 2008, builds smallsats and smallsat components. Raytheon acquired it in 2020. The company has more than 400 employees across two Colorado facilities and is projected to generate $160 million in revenue in 2026, up from $115 million in 2023. It is cash-flow positive, with about 75% of its revenue coming from defense work.
In a call with analysts, MDA executives described the acquisition as a strategic move to win more business from the U.S. government, particularly in defense. “Historically, we have served U.S. defense customers as a merchant supplier,” said Mike Greenley, chief executive of MDA Space. “BCT advances this dynamic as it provides us with an established U.S. presence, proven program delivery to U.S. defense customers and a pathway to pursue classified work and compete for prime contracts in our own right.” He called the deal “a strategic foothold in the world’s most important defense market.”
Greenley said there may also be opportunities to incorporate Blue Canyon’s products into MDA Space’s own spacecraft. “BCT actually is a candidate member of our current supply chain,” he said. “That’s going to be an interesting synergy to explore for us as we go forward.”
The chief executive said he did not know why RTX decided to sell the unit, only that MDA Space became aware of the sales process and got involved. “It seemed like it was just an asset that they wanted to be able to put out on the market,” he said, adding he was unaware of any issues that might have prompted the sale. RTX did not immediately reply to questions about its decision.
Greenley framed the acquisition within the company’s broader strategy of growth through mergers and acquisitions. “We’ve been clear the last two to three years that in M&A, we will always look for two things,” he said. “One would be vertical integration opportunities to be able to pull key technologies from our supply chain into the business to increase control over our pipelines, and the second would be for geographic distribution, primarily in the United States or Europe.” The deal comes a year after MDA Space bought SatixFy, an Israeli satellite chipmaker.
Greenley did not rule out further acquisitions. “We do have a strong short list of candidates” in both the United States and Europe, he said, including companies that would strengthen MDA Space’s U.S. presence.
The acquisition’s completion depends on regulatory approvals, including the CFIUS review, with the deal expected to close by the end of the year.
