Photo: VanderSat

Planet has announced a deal to acquire Earth data and analytics company VanderSat, in its first acquisition while going public. The $28 million deal consists of $18 million in Planet shares and approximately $10 million in cash.

VanderSat has built a suite of products that use satellite data from NASA, European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) that report data points about Earth including soil moisture, land surface temperature, vegetation optical depth, and biomass. Planet said this acquisition will expand its position in the key agriculture vertical and help mature Planet’s offerings for insurance, civil government, and finance entities.  

VanderSat is based in Haarlem, Netherlands and the team including founder Dr. Richard de Jeu and CEO Thijs van Leeuwen will join Planet, boosting Planet’s position in the European space industry. 

“This acquisition brings to Planet a world-class remote-sensing data science team, top-tier accounts in the agriculture and insurance verticals, accelerates our software strategy, and expands our footprint in Europe,“ commented Kevin Weil, Planet president of Product and Business. “Not only does it allow us to see the planet in new ways, but it also opens up the possibility for new applications that can be used by new and existing customers across our verticals.”

Planet is in the midst of going public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger, announced in July. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year.